The administration’s increasing focus on Asia is a welcome move, but it too has gone less well than expected. Experts have long said that much of the success of the famous “pivot” will depend upon completion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the most important trade agreement in decades. To its credit, the administration has aggressively pursued the deal but to little avail. The President’s trip to Tokyo revealed that the partnership is in serious trouble, mired down by domestic politics in both the U.S. and Japan.
Obama did provide much-needed assurances to Japan about American credibility as a military ally. Still, the facts remain that even as the U.S. cuts defense spending, China is boosting its defense budget by 12% and flexing its muscles off its shores. With nationalism on the rise across Asia and sparks starting to fly, who can be certain that America will be there to put out a fire?
The net result is of a president who sadly seems diminished both at home and abroad. He appears to have only minimal objectives with the current Congress — passage of a higher minimum wage and pieces of an immigration bill — and may not get either.
Most Americans still want him to succeed, but when television executives put him on the air, audiences often melt away. Even before the midterms, voters are looking over his shoulder at who comes next. “Waiting for Hillary” is a bigger story than “What Happened to Obama?” And there are few prospects for home runs overseas.
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