President Barack Obama on Wednesday offered a guardedly optimistic assessment of the economy, saying there was “some progress— and “some return to normalcy.— Obama made the statement at a White House meeting with his Economic Recovery Advisory Board, which is headed by former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker.Obama during the meeting mostly listened as panel members discussed some of the issues on group’s plate today, including helping the economy through the increased use of efficient and clean energy. Obama offered little indication of what type of new proposals he might support“There’s impressive consensus — overlap of views — about the importance of us getting out front on energy and the enormous job creation potential that exists,— Obama said at the end of the meeting.