cnn: In his first interview since the North Carolina and Indiana primaries, Obama said he thinks the United States' influence around the world has been diminishing.
"The world wants to see the United States lead. They've been disappointed and disillusioned over the last seven, eight years," he told CNN's Wolf Blitzer in an interview to air on "The Situation Room."
"I think there is still a sense everywhere I go that if the United States regains its sense of who it is and our values and our ideals, that we will continue to set the tone for a more peaceful and prosperous world."
Obama said he thinks the way the war in Iraq has been handled has kept the United States from focusing on key issues like energy policy, global warming and the economy.
Americans want to succeed, he said, "but we're going to have to make some investments and ensure that the dynamism and the innovation of the American people is released."
"It's very hard for us to do that when we're spending close to $200 billion a year in other countries, rebuilding those countries instead of focusing on making ourselves strong," he said.
Obama downplayed headlines and stories, such as the cover of Time magazine, that have declared him the Democratic presidential nominee.
"I don't want to be jinxed. We've still got some work to do," he said.
he also goes on to point out that john mccain played some nasty politics, even though his wife cindy said mccain doesn't roll that way.
Obama said he was offended when McCain said last month: "It's very clear who Hamas wants to be the next president."
"I think it's disappointing because John McCain always says 'Well, I'm not going to run that kind of politics,' -- and then to engage in that kind of smear I think is unfortunate, particularly since my policy on Hamas has been no different than his," Obama said.
"And so for him to toss out comments like that I think is an example of him losing his bearings as he pursues this nomination."
