Obama, curbing the euphoria, wins a fan

Barack Obama may have rewritten American history and coaxed tears of joy from Oprah Winfrey on election night, but on Friday he was just another option on the big TV screens at the Freakin’ Frog saloon in Las Vegas, competing with ESPN2 for the attention of the lunch crowd.

Here and around the nation, Americans had a chance to watch President-elect Obama as he held his first news conference in that capacity. His chosen topic -- the dangerously sputtering economy -- was guaranteed to dissolve any lingering post-election euphoria.

For bartender Gary Tognetti, that was just as well.

“It’s important for Americans to be pragmatic,” Tognetti, 32, said as he tended a cheeseburger on the grill. “He doesn’t have a red cape with an S on the chest. He can’t save the world.”

That was an implicit message that Obama seemed to be sending in his brief news conference, broadcast live from Chicago. Speaking publicly for the first time since his victory speech, Obama was businesslike in tone and largely grave of mien.

The demeanor struck many observers -- both supporters and skeptics -- as on-target. Tognetti, who served as a state and county delegate for Obama during the Democratic primary, hoped that Obama’s serious attitude and frank talk about the nation’s problems would help Americans temper their expectations of the man.

“I know some people put away their cynicism during the election, and I hope they don’t become cynical again if he doesn’t move mountains -- which he won’t,” Tognetti said.

That sense of adjusting to realities permeated Dojo, an Asian restaurant on the campus of New York University.

“Anyone with any grasp of the issues understands there is no way he can live up to all of the promises,” said Rich Kelleman, 38, over lunch.

Obama began: “This morning, we woke up to more sobering news about the state of our economy. . . . “

A crowd gathered around the television, including a man in a military-style jacket with an Obama button. “We’ve done good, huh?” he said to a woman standing next to him.

“I love him,” she replied.

The love was palpable in other pockets of the country as well, including on Auburn Avenue, the historic Atlanta street where Martin Luther King Jr.’s body lies next to his former church. Obama posters were still visible in the windows of many small stores, including the Silver Star Barber Shop.

Jarae Middleton, an African American Obama supporter, was waiting for a trim there Friday afternoon and watching Obama’s delivery carefully. Middleton said he still had trouble processing the fact that a black president-elect was addressing the nation.

“It’s kind of surreal,” said Middleton, 26, who works in marketing. “It’s like seeing Morgan Freeman in the movies.”

Deangelo Thornton, a 23-year-old pursuing a business degree, was worried that critics would be waiting to pounce on the first black president-elect.

“You don’t get no second chances on first impressions,” Thornton said.

When Obama finally walked to the lectern, a few minutes late, the friendly undercurrent of barbershop banter ceased. All eyes were on the man on the flat-screen TV. The faces of the barbers reflected Obama’s seriousness -- after all, they said, their cash-strapped customers are waiting longer between cuts these days.

They chuckled happily, however, when Obama, who is biracial, talked about the dog he would like to get for his girls -- a dog from the pound, he said, a “mutt, like me.”

“Oh, they’re going to use that one on the headlines,” Middleton said, smiling.

At Jerry’s Famous Deli in West Hollywood, that charm won over at least one Obama skeptic. Real estate agent Tom Gilleran, 72, said he voted for Republican contender John McCain mostly because he disagreed with Obama’s take on national security issues.

After the news conference, however, Gilleran said Obama showed “a lot of spark, a lot of humor and a lot of humanity.”

“America is going to get through this,” he said. “He sounds pretty moderate.”

For Kevin and Shelby Bauman of Denver, Obama’s somber tone matched their own.

The Baumans, both 36, moved to Colorado from Detroit this summer, fleeing the economic disaster in their home state and hoping to find work. Kevin landed a job as a Web designer, but Shelby spends her days job-hunting. They both voted for Obama, though Kevin said he might have supported McCain had the Republican not picked Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.

They had stopped for lunch at Illegal Pete’s, a popular burrito shop, where they waited for Obama to appear on TV. “I was curious,” Shelby said. “But one press conference won’t make a difference.”

She had seen the headlines on record jobless claims Friday morning. “The other headlines were that Ford laid off 24,000 and GM is running on fumes,” Kevin said. They began to discuss friends back home who were losing their jobs.

Obama strolled out on the stage. “The people who hate him will still hate him,” Kevin said. The president-elect started to speak, but it was time for Kevin to get back to work. The couple dumped their paper cups in the trash and headed out onto the chilly streets.

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ashley.powers@latimes.com

richard.fausset@latimes.com

Times staff writers Molly Hennessy-Fiske in Los Angeles, Erika Hayasaki in New York and Nicholas Riccardi in Denver also contributed to this report.

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Ashley Powers reporting from las vegas

Richard Fausset reporting from atlanta