Obama: Don’t Underestimate Midwesterners’ View of Foreign Relations

Barack Obama, who has been criticized for speaking in Berlin during an election at home, stressed that U.S. relations with Europe can affect the American economy.

“If we have more NATO troops in Afghanistan, then that’s potentially fewer American troops over the long term, which means that we’re spending fewer billions of dollars, which means we can invest those billions of dollars in making sure that we’re providing tax cuts to middle-class families who are struggling with higher gas prices,” Obama said in an interview that aired on CNN Saturday. “If we’ve got serious commitments from Europeans to deal with these energy issues in the same ways that we need to deal with them, that will have an impact on our economy.”

He added that economic issues have become increasingly globalized.
“And so — but I also wouldn’t underestimate the degree to which people in Ohio or people in Michigan or people in Missouri recognize that our long-term safety and our long-term security is going to depend on how we can interact with key allies,” he said.