Obama Says Europe Needs More Effective Response to Debt Crisis

President Barack Obama for the second time this week criticized the response of European governments to the continent’s debt crisis, saying the turmoil continues to be a drag on the U.S. economy.

“Some of the challenges that we’ve had over the last several months actually have to do with the fact that, in Europe, we haven’t seen them deal with their banking system and their financial system as effectively as they needed to,” Obama said yesterday in response to a question about U.S. economic growth at a roundtable discussion on Hispanic issues at the White House.