Scripted visit to Myanmar may help build presidential legacy for Obama
Despite a few awkward moments, the Myanmar trip may be key to building a presidential legacy
It won't be mistaken for a Nixon-goes-to-China kind of moment.
But US President Barack Obama's visit to Myanmar on Monday sometimes felt like a return to an earlier era of presidential diplomacy - his aides were determined to make sure no one missed its historic significance.
The trip was carefully choreographed to highlight what the White House sees as a first-term foreign policy success for a newly re-elected president whose record on the world stage shows few triumphs so far.
There was the cautious first meeting with reformist President Thein Sein to keep him on track, landmark talks with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, and a speech at a university steeped in the country's turbulent political history.