President Obama embarks Friday on a foreign trip focused on Asian nations that he believes are essential to the recovery of a stumbling U.S. economy, just days after voters anxious over the lack of jobs dealt Democrats a stinging defeat.

Presidents often emphasize foreign policy during difficult political times at home, and Obama's only extended foray outside the country this year will take him to a quartet of democracies where he is viewed more favorably than he is in the United States.

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