BOG POST: Article posted in LBN re "pivot" to Asia. I think Obama has something up his sleeve on TPP [View all]

With thanks to Purveyor, whose OP it was.

I thought this was very interesting, but it didn't get much traction (only 2 Recs; one of them mine). I commented, and wonder what you all think? I'm obviously reading the text differently from others. My reply is after the quote from the article; maybe I didn't express it as well as I should have because it was so late at night... I think Obama has something up his sleeve re the TPP, in the same way as he is sending strong signals about the Keystone Pipeline turning out to be useless and counterproductive both. Anyway, recommended to visit the original thread from last night, or just comment here.

~H~

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014944891
U.S. Muscle, Money, Influence Pivoting To Asia, Obama Says At G20
Source: CNN

(CNN) -- U.S. President Obama opened his appearance at the G20 summit of world leaders in Australia with a speech that had to make Beijing think.

The United States is a big part of the power balance in Asia and plans to throw more of its weight onto the scale, the president told a crowd at the University of Queensland in Brisbane.

"We will continue to deepen our engagement using every element of American power -- diplomacy, military, economic, development, the power of our values and ideals," he said.

And the United States will band together with nations in the region. It will work toward giving them more heft -- so that big nations do not "bully the small," Obama said.

Read more: http://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/15/world/asia/g20-summit-start/

My post:

The fascinating thing about having a POTUS born in Hawai'i and partly raised in Indonesia....

....is that unlike previous presidents, he really SEES Pacific and Asia. He gets their importance in a layered and nuanced fashion. The world is no longer just Europe/Russia and the USA, as it was in prior centuries. And Asia is no longer a bunch of undeveloped nations looking to manufacture our goods for us. Obama gets this -- as I say, in a nuanced way. He doesn't demonize China as the Yellow Peril, nor denigrate it, nor does he ignore its genuine ongoing threat to the region. He's really trying to bring them in, from what I can see. Look what he got in relation to climate change -- amazing.

DUers have really been fearing the TPP, they've expended a lot of anger over what they think it might mean to Americans. But I think there will be real depth to what he's trying to achieve with it.

Incidentally, reading the entire linked article: I had no idea Putin had decided to fly jets into the Gulf of Mexico on military maneuvers. Yikes. That's really a lot worse than "rearing his head over Alaska" -- that's genuine Cold War provocation from the little bastard.

We've definitely been born in interesting times.