Pull it Together, Mr. President
Walter Lohman /
So America’s first “Asia-Pacific President” who brought America “back” to Asia after eight years of supposed neglect under the Bush Administration has canceled his Indonesia-Australia-Guam trip yet again. That makes an unprecedented four cancellations (“postponements”) for this particular Presidential trip. Indonesians fully expected him there in November of last year at the end of his visit to South Korea, Japan, China, and Singapore (APEC host). The expectation was strong enough that Obama had to personally tell Indonesian President Yudhoyono that he couldn’t make it. And the drama over the March trip is well known. Two cancellations in that month – over the health care debate in Washington.
Look, it is hard to hold the circumstances of this latest cancellation against the President. He needs to assert leadership in resolving the environmental crisis in the Gulf of Mexico. That’s a multifaceted problem, much more complicated than trips down to New Orleans are going to solve. If fixing it means staying in the U.S. to better devise and coordinate the federal response, fine.
The real problem with canceling this Asia trip should be traced back to March. That was a political crisis – and scheduling nightmare – of Obama’s own making. Its not as if the Administration didn’t know reforming one-sixth of the U.S. economy was going to be contentious, and the Administration itself largely controlled the calendar. There should have been better coordination and balancing of priorities. (more…)