AP Photo

THE OBAMA administration has focused much of its foreign policy on what Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton likes to call the "three D's:" diplomacy, development and defense. A fourth D, democracy, is missing from that formula - and too often it has been absent from President Obama's strategy. So it has been encouraging to see the emphasis the president has placed on democratic countries and democratic values during his ongoing tour of Asia. In a region where the shadow and the example of autocratic China are formidable, Mr. Obama is visiting four free countries, and in his speeches he is making a strong case for why they are more likely to succeed in the long run.