White House says Australians should be happy that President Obama isn't going to Australia

We just finished putting corks on the dingoes' teeth and taping shut the mouths of the crocodiles and snakes so that the Obamas could visit safely. Now he's not coming, so we have to uncork all the dingoes again?


[link to www.smh.com.au]

Mr Obama's on-again, off-again tour follows similar recent failed trips to Australia by two of his most senior lieutenants, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defence Secretary Robert Gates who abandoned visits in January when the killer Haiti earthquakes struck.

Experts on Australian-US affairs say Australians should not be offended. They say the opposite.

The fact the president, Ms Clinton and Mr Gates would be comfortable in calling off trips to Australia showed how comfortable the US and Australia were with each other.

"Diplomacy is not baseball, and this third strike does not mean that the president is out," analyst Michael J Green wrote in a commentary for the Center for Strategic and International Studies in DC.

"Australia and Indonesia will no doubt welcome him again in June, though senior officials in both governments will be nervously biting their nails as they approach the fourth attempt at a trip."

Dr Tidwell said the Australian and Indonesian governments understand Mr Obama is involved in a high-stakes fight to pass the healthcare legislation.

"Obama would have cancelled travel to any other state - I think that's important," Dr Tidwell said.

"So, no Australia shouldn't be offended.

"In fact, I would say that both Australia and Indonesia have been very gracious in understanding the importance of the domestic agenda. If Obama is successful with healthcare reform I think it is a broader signal to the rest of the world that things really have changed in Washington.

"If he loses, I think his presidency is sunk."