Shutdown forces Obama to cancel TPP sales trip

President Obama cancelled his trip to the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Indonesia, blaming the government shutdown.  Obama had planned to meet with Asian leaders to sell them on the TransPacific Partnership (TPP), a corporate protectionist deal that makes the world safe for outsourcing. 

As Martha Stewart would say, "It's a good thing." While 800,000 government workers are furloughed as a result of the shutdown, the standoff in Washington may actually end up saving American jobs if it helps kill the TPP.

Secretary of State John Kerry will attend the APEC and East Asia summits in place of the president. Considering Kerry's record on Syria, it's easy to imagine him fumbling the US into an untenable committment, for better or worse.