WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama spent his first full day at the White House taking on issues likely to consume the early part of his presidency - dealing with the economic crisis, calling leaders in the Middle East, and moving towards the closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison.

A day after claiming his place in history as the first black US president, Obama faces the challenge of pulling the US economy out of its nosedive and also must move on his promise to withdraw American forces from Iraq and sends still more soldiers to America’s other war in Afghanistan.

Obama was meeting with top US military and economic advisers on Wednesday and also called the leaders of Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt and Jordan. His press secretary, Robert Gibbs, said Obama emphasised that he would work to consolidate the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Obama also had aides circulate a draft executive order that would close the detention centre at Guantanamo Bay within a year.

“The way to make government responsible is to hold it accountable,” Obama said as he unveiled ethics rules that he portrayed as the fulfillment of a major campaign promise. He said the action was necessary “to help restore faith in government without which we cannot deliver the changes that we were sent here to make.” Among Obama’s first day executive orders were a freeze on salaries for the about 100 White House staff earning $100,000 or more and new rules making it harder to keep the workings of government secret.

He also announced tighter ethics rules governing when administration officials can work on issues on which they previously lobbied governmental agencies, and banning them from lobbying the Obama administration after leaving government service.

Obama ventured into the Oval Office for the first time as president at around 8:30am, after returning to the White House from a round of inaugural balls at about 1:00am, presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

He and the new first lady then headed to the National Cathedral for a prayer service, a tradition dating to the country’s first president, George Washington.

In addition to meeting with his advisers, Obama was welcoming public visitors into the White House, as Congress was scrutinising his economic revival plan and taking up the nominations of Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state and Timothy Geithner for treasury secretary.

A new poll underscored the sense of anticipation that accompanied Obama into office.

The Associated Press-Knowledge Networks survey found that by a 3-1 margin, people feel more optimistic about the country’s future now that Obama has been inaugurated, including 30 per cent of Republicans.

A meeting with his economic team was planned to assess his approach and plot the way forward. Taking over the White House with 11 million Americans out of work and trillions of dollars in stock market savings lost, Obama said that turning around the limping economy is his first and greatest priority.

Congress already has given him a second installment of financial-industry bailout money, worth $350 billion, and is fast-tracking a massive economic stimulus bill of $825 billion or more.

“Fortunately we’ve seen Congress immediately start working on the economic recovery package, getting that passed and putting people back to work,” he said in an ABC News television interview. “That’s going to be the thing we’ll be most focussed on.” Addressing the war in Iraq that he has promised to end was featuring prominently in Obama’s first day as well.

According to officials, Obama will conduct a video teleconference late in the afternoon with members of the National Security Council as well as the US military commanders in the two war zones.

Obama has said he wants US combat troops out of Iraq in 16 months, as long as doing so would not endanger either the Americans left behind for training and terrorism-fighting or the security gains in Iraq. He has said he would use that drawdown to bolster the US presence in Afghanistan, where a resurgent Taliban has been gaining ground. Summoned to the White House to discuss the way ahead in the wars were Defence Secretary Robert Gates - the lone Republican Cabinet holdover from the Bush administration - along with chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, the top military commander in the Middle East, Gen. David Petraeus, and other members of the security council.

Participating from the war front were to be Gen. Ray Odierno, the top US commander in Iraq, and Gen. David McKiernan, the top commander in Afghanistan, according to two senior military officers.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting has not been officially announced by the White House.

While Obama gets to work in earnest at the White House, Congress planned to do its part.

A Senate committee was taking a close look at Obama’s $825 billion economic revival package. On the other side of the Capitol, the House planned a vote on legislation setting conditions on Obama’s use of the new infusion of $350 billion in financial bailout money.

Getting the Obama administration fully staffed also was proceeding.

Within hours of Obama’s swearing in, the Senate approved six members of his Cabinet. His choice of Clinton to be secretary of state awaited a Senate vote Wednesday.

Also left unconfirmed was Geithner, the nominee to head the Treasury Department. He faces the Senate Finance Committee, also Wednesday.

Geithner issued an apology for his initial failure to pay payroll taxes he owed while working for the International Monetary Fund, saying the oversight was “careless” and “unintentional.” “I should have been more careful,” the secretary-designate told the Senate Finance Committee. Its chairman, Max Baucus said he thought that Geithner had made “disappointing mistakes” but also said he needed to be confirmed so he could get to work on solving the country’s financial crisis.

More executive actions should be expected soon. Among the other possibilities for the first day was the naming of a Middle East envoy.