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CAMP ROUND MEADOW, Md. – Beginning a second day of meetings at the Camp David G8 summit, President Obama presented a unified front on Saturday when it comes to tackling the European debt crisis, the biggest issue hanging over the talks.
Speaking to reporters before the meetings with the world leaders, Obama said the group discussed the path forward with the Eurozone at dinner on Friday night.
“We all agreed that growth and fiscal consolidation should be a part of an overall package that all of us have to pursue in order for us to achieve the prosperity for our citizens that we’re looking for.”
Upon entering the rustic lodge on Friday evening, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev quipped to Obama: “This is my new place!”
British Prime Minister David Cameron also seemed to appreciate Obama’s infrequently visited vacation digs.
"This is a nice, peaceful spot,” Cameron said.
“It’s not bad,” Obama replied.
But Angela Merkel, the German chancellor who has found herself at the center of the Eurozone crisis, seemed a little underwhelmed.
After Obama greeted her kisses on both cheeks, asking, “How have you been?”
Merkel shrugged.
“Well, you had a few things on your mind,” Obama replied.
After pushing for strict fiscal austerity measures in troubled European economies, which contributed to further unemployment, Merkel said this week she was open to stimulus programs in Greece to spur growth.
A senior E.U. official feels as though this weekend’s G8 and NATO summits have been orchestrated to aid President Obama’s reelection campaign, according to the Reuters newswire today.
“On condition of anonymity,” Reuters reported “a senior E.U. official told Reuters it felt as if the Obama administration wanted the G8 to cooperate in the reelection campaign. ‘They see the debt crisis as the biggest likely drag on the U.S. economy between now and November,’ the official said, ‘and so they basically want to make sure that we find a way of muddling through.’”