Obama Slams Bush in South Korea

Even before President Obama boarded his home-bound flight for Washington, capping his exhausting weeklong Asian tour, the White House was scrambling to combat perceptions that the trip failed to produce concrete results.

Compared to Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, the U.S. is putting its alliances "on a firmer footing" and has "reasserted our leadership in the region," the White House said in a statement released to reporters hours before the president's flight home.

"Overall, American leadership was absent from this region for the last several years,'' the release said.

Obama met today with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, calling for North Korea to take "serious steps" to give up its nuclear weapons and committing himself to reviving a free-trade deal between Seoul and Washington that has stalled in the U.S. Congress.