On Wednesday, he appointed former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker to the team advising him on the economic crisis (today’s Washington Post talks about all the big brains that will be in the administration, and how tough it might be for the President-elect to corral them). Volcker is one of several new appointments Obama said will work to fix the crisis, assuring Americans “hope is on the way.” Volcker’s experience during the Clinton administration brought up a question about the President-elect’s message of change and his appointment of familiar Washington faces.

Obama said “Understand where the vision for change comes from, first and foremost. It comes from me. That’s my job, is to provide a vision in terms of where we are going, and to make sure, then, that my team is implementing.”

He also talked with Barbara Walters last night on ABC about the team he’s putting in place, and why time is of the essence: “We’ve got a President who, even though he may mean well, is now sort of in lame duck status, Congress isn’t in session, and I don’t have the reins of power. So my job right now is to assemble the best possible team, and put our plans in place so on January 20th, we come out of the gates with full force.

During the interview, the President-elect and Michelle Obama also talked about preparing for life in the White House. Obama said he will work with the chief usher to find ways to make the White House a little greener (“Part of what I want to do is to show the American people that it’s not that hard”). The future First Lady said daughters Sasha and Malia can look forward to the new puppy, but they’ll also need to be ready to pick up after it – and for other chores. “I said ‘You know, we’re going to have to set up some boundaries, because they’re going to need to be able to make their beds, clean up.’” Watch the entire Barbara Walters interview here.