President Obama's statements on Iran in his press conference do not make me feel better at all.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Misguided on Iran

So the challenge for me is to make sure that we do not default, but to do so in a way that is as balanced as possible and gets us at least a down payment on solving this problem.

WHITEHOUSE: President Obama Speaks to Town Hall Meeting at University of Maryland | The White House

But James Robbins agreed with me that the political pressures now on the German Chancellor do not necessarily make a Franco-German compromise harder to reach.

BBC: Europe: The big debate

"My great enthusiasm for the EU doesn't make me blind to things that have not gone well and where we need to do better, " he said.

BBC: Time 'not right' to join euro - Simon Hughes