Bad news keeps coming Obama's way.

In Tokyo, he gave two more-than-generous gifts to Shinzo Abe: In the capacity of the sitting U.S. president, he formally declared that the Japan-U.S. security treaty applies to China's Diaoyu Islands, and that the U.S. endorses Japan's claim to the right to collective self-defense (CSD). Both promises have long been craved by the right-wing Japanese prime minister.

Obama reviews what some called the world's best sushi. [File photo]

What did he get in return? Practically nothing, except, perhaps, "the best sushi (he) ever had."

He failed to achieve a trade deal after marathon negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the proposed regional trade pact. Shinzo Abe was unable to overcome entrenched resistance from Japanese farmers.

Obama had hoped to use his visit to announce an agreement under which Japan would open its markets in rice, beef, poultry and pork, a critical step toward the TPP, a key pact that underlies his strategic rebalance to Asia.

It was a dismal failure.

"Troubles never come singly" as the Chinese saying goes. Israel announced that it was suspending peace negotiations with the Palestinians, after a reconciliation was reached between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Hamas. This happened in spite of the fact that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has made great investments.

As the Ukraine crisis escalates, the much maligned Russian President Vladimir Putin seems to have the upper hand, at least for now.

Russia enjoys considerable support from ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine, so, as another Chinese saying goes, it enjoys the advantage of "favorable timing, geographic and human conditions."