President Obama addressed the nation from the East Room of the White House Tuesday night to make a prime-time push for his $3.6 trillion proposed budget for 2010.

In the hour-long press conference, the President tried to build public support for the budget, which forecasts a trillion-dollar deficit in 2010 and would potentially entail $10 trillion in deficits over the next decade.

“The budget I submitted to Congress will build our economic recovery on a stronger foundation, so that we do not face another crisis like this 10 or 20 years from now,” Obama said in his opening remarks. 

President Obama began his address with a discussion of the progress being made on the economic front, as the nation’s economy struggles to rebound in the face of a global recession.

“We’re beginning to see signs of progress,” President Obama said of the state of the economy since the stimulus plan was passed. He stressed the fact that the country is moving in the right direction and cited improvement on the mortgage front, saying that many of the homeowners in mortgage trouble are now getting relief.

In speaking of the budget, the President’s opening statement attempted to assuage the concerns many Americans have about the deficits and criticized previous economic policies.

“At the end of the day, the best way to bring our deficit down in the long run is not with a budget that continues the very same policies that have led to a narrow prosperity and massive debt,” the President said.  “It’s with a budget that leads to broad economic growth by moving from an era of borrow and spend to one where we save and invest.” 

The President took several questions from members of the media, and he reiterated the key areas he would like to see this budget focus on.

“I want to see health care, energy, education and serious efforts to reduce our budget deficit,” President Obama said, after sidestepping a question about whether or not he would support a revised budget without a middle-class tax cut or cap and trade. 

The President made his case for making critical investments in jobs, health care, infrastructure and tax cuts for the middle class, justifying plans for increased spending and large long-term deficits by emphasizing the need to invest in the country’s future.

President Obama argued that his budget drives the deficit down in its first five years.  “Where the dispute comes in is what happens in a whole bunch of out years,” he said.

He explained that some critics of his budget assume gross domestic product will grow at a rate of 2.2% several years down the road, rather than the administration’s GDP growth forecasts of 2.6%, which the President asserts is in line with the estimates of many blue-chip companies.

President Obama reiterated the importance cutting health-care costs, stating “It’s going to be an impossible task for us to balance our budget if we’re not taking on rising health-care costs.”

Obama also said his budget would increase veteran spending and defended his cuts to charitable deductions, stating that the deduction cuts would affect only the top 1% of taxpayers.  Some charitable organizations have argued that that top 1% of taxpayers account for nearly one-third of all charitable giving in the country.

The President took a different attitude toward Wall Street, saying we can’t “demonize” every investor or entrepreneur who tries to make a profit. According to one analyst, it was crucial that the President reassure Wall Street about his plans for the economy and regulations, since the Administration is counting on them to help buy up those toxic bank assets.

“He needs to convince investors that the government will honor the terms of the deal and not change them, and he needs to convince the public that this deal is in their best interest because it will get the economy going again,” said Jaret Sieberg, an analyst with the Washington Research Group, in an interview with FOX Business.

On Friday, the President will meet with CEOs from 12 of the country’s largest banks about the need for the private sector’s cooperation in Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s new plan.

“There’s no question that we need cooperation to make this go,” said David Axelrod, White House senior adviser, in an interview with FOX Business's Peter Barnes following the press conference. “We’re also going to be talking about financial regulatory reform, which may be a little less popular with some folks on Wall Street, but he’s going to explain it, I think.”

Axelrod said one of the “great challenges” the President faces lies in balancing his support for a strong, viable private banking sector, with his criticism of the financial sector for its excesses which have been damaging to the economy.

Tuesday night’s press conference came after a media tour that included appearances on the Tonight Show, ESPN and 60 Minutes in recent days. 

The President will also conduct a special online town hall on the economy on Thursday, which will be streamed on WhiteHouse.gov.  President Obama will answer some of the most popular questions submitted online through the Web site’s “Open for Questions” section.  Viewers can submit new questions or vote on questions that have already been submitted.