Expectations had been relatively low for President Obama's visit to Indonesia, Guam and Australia, which was touted more as a "homecoming" for the president to the country where he lived as a child than an opportunity to achieve any critical policy goals.

But by postponing his trip to June due to Sunday's health care vote, Obama now faces heightened attention to the visit. More broadly, he risks a drop in America's popularity among Indonesians, which nearly doubled from 37% in 2008 to 63% in 2009, according to the Pew Research Center's latest Global Attitudes Survey.

Council on Foreign Relations fellow Joshua Kurlantzick, a Southeast Asia specialist, warned that Obama's decision may have ruffled feathers among some Indonesian officials. "I think he made the right choice in that he just passed major legislation, but I think that most Indonesian policy makers weren't happy, since it was kind of a slap in the face," Kurlantzick said.

On the plus side, the delay means that the administration now has more time to work on the agenda for its U.S.-Indonesia Comprehensive Partnership Agreement, slated to increase cooperation between the two nations on educational exchange, investment, joint military activities, climate change and a host of other issues.

Dewi Asmara, a former classmate of Obama's who now serves as a member of the Indonesian parliament, said that Indonesians understood that Obama faced competing priorities.

"I mean, he's the president," Asmara said. "And we do remember, during the rallies, that he promised people to do better for the facilities for health." She noted that Obama's delay of the trip meant that he could keep his word to Americans on health care, "so, of course, we don't need to be disappointed," because "everybody has their own duty, their own obligation."