BizJournals Portfolio
Apr 03 2009 7:51pm EDT

44, Day 74: A Charm Offensive on NATO

An ongoing log of the daily activities of the 44th president of the United States during his first 100 days:

-Candidate Obama reappeared today, helping President Obama to woo a whole new constituency: the European public. In a basketball arena in Strasbourg, France, the president used a campaign-style "town hall" meeting to field questions from -- and make points with -- average French and German people. First he gave a little, promising to curb nuclear weapons, close the prison in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, and work with the rest of the world to address global warming -- all very popular in Europe. Then he asked for something: greater NATO support for military operations in Afghanistan. The strategy seemed to work. "We totally endorse and support America's new strategy in Afghanistan," French President Nicolas Sarkozy said.

-An unidentified senior administration official told the Wall Street Journal that the president intends to ease limits on American travel to and investment in Cuba. The Journal said that they timing of the announcement was unclear, but suggested that it could coincide with the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago later this month.

by Mark Stein

Sources: CBS and The Wall Street Journal.


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