Jul 10th, 2009 | L'AQUILA, Italy -- He's had a lot of summits in his first six months in office, and President Barack Obama admits that he's looking forward to seeing fewer of them.
Concluding the G-8 summit in Italy, Obama spoke of the need to find the right combination of international leaders to move ahead on global issues.
One problem, he says, is that everyone wants a seat at the table. He says if a nation is the 21st biggest, it thinks there should be a G-21, rather than a G-8.
Obama says "a lot of energy" is going into these summits -- which, he suggests, can sometimes work more effectively and rapidly than the United Nations can. Obama says he's a "strong supporter" of the UN, but that it needs to be reformed and revitalized.
One thing is clear -- Obama says when it comes to dealing with decision-making bodies, the U.S. Congress is "always tougher" than the groups he deals with overseas.
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