9 seconds ago 2009-12-09T06:55:05-08:00
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama has left Washington on his first major trip to Asia, where a surging China and newly assertive Japan are threatening to upend America's longtime role as keeper of the peace and trader-in-chief.
Obama already is the most traveled first-year president ever. His Asian journey will add four countries to the 16 he's already visited. He's traveling first to Japan, then to Singapore, China and South Korea. The eight-day trip will highlight a dramatically changing continent.
Obama left a day later than originally planned. His schedule was scrambled by Tuesday's memorial service in Texas for the shooting victims at Fort Hood.
