Working on his frequent flyer miles.
HANOI, Vietnam – As the candidates vying to replace him get increasingly aggressive, President Barack Obama is embarking on a sort of farewell tour to the world.
His visit this week to Vietnam and Japan – he arrives Monday Vietnam time – is one of at least seven treks abroad this year. It’s a schedule that will take him out of the country almost once a month from March through November, when voters will pick his replacement, and it is not unusual for presidents on their way out the door.
In March, he became the first U.S. president in more than 80 years to visit Cuba, and he went on to Argentina on the same trip.
In April, Air Force One was bound for Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and Germany. In the U.K., his trip took on a wistful tone as he dined with the queen – his only British queen; her 12th U.S. president – toured the Globe Theatre and watched part of “Hamlet.” He also made headlines for his impromptu play date with 2-year-old Prince George – along with a business visit with the prime minister.
This week, it’s Vietnam – his first visit there – and Japan. After a summit meeting in Japan, he’ll become the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima and the site of the world’s first atomic bombing.
n June, it’s Canada for the pomp and pageantry of a state visit, as well as meetings with the prime minister of Canada and the president of Mexico.
In July – as the Democratic and Republicans nominees for president prepare for their national conventions – Obama heads to Poland for a NATO summit.
August is blank. He and family usually vacation that month. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff gave Obama a “standing invitation” to come to Rio de Janeiro for the Olympics in August, though it’s unlikely he would go now that the country is in political turmoil.
In September, as the general election campaign for president is in full force, he’ll go back to Asia, this time to China for a G-20 meeting and Laos for the East Asia Summit.
“He has a soft spot for Southeast Asia,” said Joshua Walker, a former State Department official who is now a fellow with the Asia program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Obama, who lived in Indonesia for several years as a child, will become the first sitting president ever to go to Southeast Asia twice in a year.