President Barack Obama painted a bleak economic picture of the country

By Paul Steinhauser
CNN Deputy Political Director

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Barack Obama painted a bleak economic picture of the country on Saturday, hours before he is to meet with his economic team.

"We begin this year and this administration in the midst of an unprecedented crisis that calls for unprecedented action," he said in his weekly radio and Internet address.

"Just this week, we saw more people file for unemployment than at any time in the last 26 years, and experts agree that if nothing is done, the unemployment rate could reach double digits," Obama said.