Both of your leader and article about Barack Obama’s recent visit to Asia smack of American Republicanism at its most rabid (“The Pacific (and Pussyfooting) President” and “Scaling the Asian Wall,” November 21, 2009). This is where his politeness and deference are interpreted as weakness and lack of resolution. His lackluster press conference with Hu Jintao, which was in glaring contrast to the free-for-all between Bill Clinton and Jiang Zemin in 1998, is one of the bones of contention for Republicans. But the world has changed in the last eleven years. And how. China is a superpower now, and much of Asia is surging forward as a consequence. Styling himself as America’s first “Pacific president,” Obama is charting a new course with respect to all the “Atlantic presidents” of yesteryear. Most important, his demeanor was much appreciated across Asia. When it comes to the world affairs, this only shows that American hubris is a thing of the past.