For Obama, an Asian agenda with an eye on home

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Determined to deepen relations with Asia, President Barack Obama is pouring nine days of valued time into a diplomatic mission away from Washington while Congress struggles toward a crucial budget deadline and a doubtful outcome.

Obama departs Friday for far-reaching summits in Hawaii and Indonesia, with a visit to Australia in between.
The travels will take the president more than 10,000 miles and across many time zones from home at a moment when domestic concerns matter most to the electorate.

His challenge will be to explain to voters how the U.S. role in the Asia-Pacific region is essential to American jobs and security — and then emerge with results to show for his travels.

For a leader who was born in Hawaii, spent boyhood years in Indonesia and hails himself as America's first Pacific president, Obama's worldview is shaped deeply by Asia. His administration is showering attention on the Asia-Pacific region as a driver of global politics, prized buyer of American products and central player in protecting world peace.

"If you want America to be a world leader in this century, that leadership is going to have to include the Asia-Pacific," said Ben Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser for Obama.

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