Obama Has Little to Show From His Trip to Asia

(Nov. 19) -- President Obama returns from his four-nation tour of Asia with few concrete accomplishments in hand. Even so, the White House defended the trip as an important step toward changing America's image overseas.

The president got more attention back home for his deep bow to Japan's emperor than for anything else he did during the eight-day journey. His critics blasted the gesture as a sign of weakness. But Obama believes taking a more deferential approach than his predecessor puts the U.S. in a stronger position internationally.

"This strategy is a conscious rejection of the Bush Administration's approach," said TIME's Michael Scherer. The problem, he noted, is that Obama "has little to show for his global charm campaign beyond a Nobel Prize, soaring international poll approval and the promise of many more diplomatic dialogues to come."

President Barack Obama visits Great Wall of China

Charles Dharapak, AP

President Obama visits the Great Wall Wednesday before wrapping up his visit to China.

Even Obama's personal popularity among Asians didn't translate into policy successes in talks with the region's leaders, The New York Times reported.

He apparently failed to move China any closer to embracing broad sanctions against Iran for its nuclear ambitions. Obama and South Korea's president offered no new proposals to break the impasse over North Korea's nukes.

Obama and Chinese leaders discussed environmental concerns but failed to nail down a binding agreement on targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions. And they didn't strike any deals to ease trade imbalances by encouraging China and other Asian nations to buy more American products, noted the New America Foundation's Steve Clemons on Politico.

Larry Kudlow complained on Townhall.com that the president "added to it a declinist opinion of America's economy" because he didn't go to Asia with a clear message about stabilizing the U.S. dollar.

So what does Obama have to show for all his time spent in Asia? Well, there are some nice snapshots of him visiting the Great Wall of China. And if he got the chance to do any shopping, he could be bringing home some unusual souvenirs, as this photo gallery shows.

One of the president's top advisers took the long view of Obama's lengthy trip.

"Whether it's climate change, security issues, economic issues, the discussions that we had on this trip advanced our goals," David Axelrod said. "We didn't have expectations that Barack Obama arrives in China or anywhere else and things change overnight.

"We came here to lay a foundation for progress. We've done that," Axelrod told reporters shortly before heading home.

Or, as Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu put it: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."