Economy is being eclipsed as top campaign issue

Economy is being eclipsed as top campaign issue

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama still calls shoring up the middle class his “No. 1 priority,” but recent events overseas and at home are overshadowing the U.S. economy as a political issue. The civil war in Syria and alleged use by Damascus of chemical weapons, political turmoil in Egypt and revelations about the extent of the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs are complicating Obama’s efforts to keep the focus on the economy.