With many politicians and observers complaining that Obama was failing to provide strong leadership in international relations, his more assertive moves toward China, Russia, and North Korea in the spring of 2014 were closely watched and intensely debated in Washington, DC. In most discussions the starting assumption was new, assertive behavior by one or another of these countries has provoked his response. Many took for granted that weakness in responding to one crisis would reverberate in more aggressive testing of Obama in another crisis. The conclusions proposed ranged from: more clarity on red lines to avoid misjudgments; more unambiguous reassurances to allies and partners; more steps to reinvigorate the full range of US power; more coordination with allies and partners to avoid any surprises; and more reinforcement of defense cooperation and interoperability. Security drew scrutiny beyond anything seen since the Cold War. With TPP negotiations not at the point of a breakthrough, Obama’s late April visit to four states was mainly about security. Of his stops, the most attention centered on Tokyo, as did the follow-up discussions.

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