Even for a leader who has already chalked up many firsts, Barack Obama's Hiroshima visit is a hugely audacious moment. One fraught with risks, too, as Republicans back home accuse the U.S. president of extending an apology for which most Americans aren't ready.
That's silly, of course. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government doesn't want America's contrition, as it might put the onus on Tokyo to atone for attacking Pearl Harbor and colonizing large swaths of Asia. Saying sorry for President Harry Truman's decision to nuke Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 would also reverberate through the U.S. election progress. Hillary Clinton would face her own bombardment from Donald Trump's party over perceived appeasement.
But the real risk Obama faces visiting the original Ground Zero is legitimizing Abe's nationalistic agenda. The same goes for political machinations in Vietnam, where Obama made big news lifting Washington's arms embargo, and Malaysia, where he continues to embrace a corruption-tainted leader.