U.S. President Barack Obama's decision to cancel his visits to the economic and political summits in Asia is a setback for the U.S. position in the region. As Woody Allen said, 80 percent of life is showing up, and this is especially true of diplomacy in Asia. But having planned and participated in similar trips for this president and for George W. Bush, we also know that the extent of the damage will depend on what the White House does next.
This is not the first time a president has pulled out of diplomatic engagements in Asia because of domestic politics. In 1995, President Bill Clinton canceled his trip to a regional economic summit in Osaka, Japan, because of a federal government shutdown. He was widely criticized at the time but recovered the following spring with highly successful visits to Japan and Korea that resulted in far-reaching changes to our alliances. Today, nobody remembers that Clinton did not go to Osaka.
In 1998, Clinton pulled out of a summit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and sent Vice President Al Gore in his place.