"It can either take the right path toward a bright future and prosperity, or it can take a bad road toward further and deeper isolation and eventual self-destruction, " he said.

BBC: North Korea ends peace pacts with South

We said we would engage Iran and give them an opportunity to take the right path, a path that would lead to prosperity and opportunity for their people and a peaceful region, and one in which they would allow themselves to become a full-fledged member of the community of nations.

WHITEHOUSE: President Obama and President Sarkozy at the White House

And he has a crucial role in persuading both members and the public about what he believes is the right path to take.

WHITEHOUSE: Press Briefing

" The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Germany's most respected paper, noted that while the idea has been predictably attacked by unions and some business interests, "massive resistance by people representing particular interests and associations is the most certain sign that this is the right path to take.

WSJ: The World Is Flat

Yet you have to ensure the path you take is the right one.

CNN: Is fear of failure holding you back?

And that recipe of short-term investments in growth and jobs with a long-term path of fiscal responsibility is the right approach to take for, I think, not only the United States but also for Europe.

WHITEHOUSE: President Obama Holds a Press Conference on the Economy