Homeward bound

To go to a G20 meeting in South Korea, expecting to sign a big bilateral deal with the S. Koreans on trade and have that blow up in your face is evidence of either pure incompetence, or political weakness so evident to a client state that it thinks it can bitchslap you with impunity.

I expect it was the latter.

To have that happen in East Asia, where bitchslapping is a art with many subtleties and its meaning clear to all, means that Barack Obama had better stay home from now on, as unappealing as that may be. Loss of face at this level can only be countered with reciprocal actions. He lacks the both the intellegence and courage to take the necessary steps. Besides that, he is hardly in control of his own administration.