Obama in Asia Three Days after Midterms

It’s 25 degrees in Washington, with a tropical rain. You’d think you were already in India.

With more than a week before Barack Obama’s departure for Asia, his aides are today presenting the trip to the press. The president will be in India from Nov 6-9, then briefly in Indonesia, then in Seoul for the G-20 on Nov. 11 and 12, and then in Japan.

Why such a presentation today, when one must sometimes wait until the day before for the traditional presidential pre-trip “briefing?”

Probably because the Republicans have begun, all at the same time, as usual, to criticize the fact that the president, while “receiving an important message from Americans,” is undertaking such a long trip oversees.

The White House is finding itself obliged to explain that presidential trips can have repercussions on employment and that a G-20 may be somewhat useful in the attempt to recalibrate the hellish duo of the excess/deficit worldwide economy.

And with the confusion that risks prevailing on the Republican side (what attitude to adopt? Party of no? Of it depends?), Barack Obama has every interest in showing himself above the fray…

In addition, the trip is very China-centric: The great fear of Americans is currently the big specter of midterms. (It is interesting to see to what point, moreover, Obama incites this fear of seeing the United States overtaken by China and Asia in general. It recurs in numerous speeches, whether on education, new energy, etc.)

Obama was careful to go first to China last year. This time, he is visiting powers likely to be counter-weights: India, Indonesia, not to mention Japan. He will have the chance to see Hu at the G-20.

Hillary Clinton, for her part, has left for Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Australia.