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    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    Mixed Reviews for President Obama's Last Personal "Pivot" to Asia

    After Hawaii, the Midway Atoll and Hangzhou, China, Mr. Obama is now in Laos — the first sitting president to visit that country. He won't hold that office for long, and this trip is important in his final effort to bolster US influence in the Pacific-Asia region.

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    By Warren Olney • Sep 6, 2016 • 1 min read

    After Hawaii, the Midway Atoll and Hangzhou, China, Mr. Obama is now in Laos — the first sitting president to visit that country. He won't hold that office for long, and this trip is important in his final effort to bolster US influence in the Pacific-Asia region.

    Along the way, he talked Syria with Vladimir Putin, and he was called an "SOB" by the President of the Philippines. He finalized the climate-change deal with China — but the Trans Pacific Partnership may never pass Congress. We hear about successes and failures.

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      Warren Olney

      former KCRW broadcaster

    • KCRW placeholder

      Andrea Brody

      Senior Producer, KCRW's Life Examined and To the Point podcast

    • KCRW placeholder

      Paul von Zielbauer

      Co-founder of Geezer magazine, former producer for To the Point and Which Way LA?; former reporter for the New York Times

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      Jenny Hamel

      KCRW

    • KCRW placeholder

      Josh Lederman

      Associated Press

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      Andrew Steer

      World Resources Institute

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      Michael Fuchs

      Center for American Progress

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