Bush and the Olympics Opening Ceremony

Should President Bush attend the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Beijing?

Democrats, including Hillary Clinton, say he should not.

WASHINGTON -- President Bush has said he plans to attend the Beijing Olympics, but the White House has not ruled out the possibility that he may miss the opening ceremony, which China hopes to use as an international showcase.

Critics of China say that Bush avoiding the event would be a powerful sign of international anger over China's violent response to demonstrating Buddhist monks in Tibet. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's spokeswoman said Wednesday that Brown will not attend the opening ceremony.

Over two days, White House press secretary Dana Perino has faced questions about Bush's attendance at the opening gala for games that China hopes to use to make a statement about its rising economic and political power. She says Bush will go to the Olympics.

But, pressed by reporters whether she could say if Bush will attend the opening ceremony, Perino said Wednesday, "I cannot."

She says the reason is not uncommon: "I'm not trying to signal anything by saying that. I don't have the president's schedule. It is way too far in advance for us to announce the president's schedule."

Perino said Bush "has been very clear that he believes that the right thing for him to do is to continue to press the Chinese on a range of issues, from human rights and democracy, political speech freedoms and religious tolerance, and to do that publicly and privately, before, during and after the Olympics."

Democratic Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Robert Byrd and Robert Menendez sent Bush a letter Wednesday saying the crackdown in Tibet "should be unacceptable to anyone who believes in basic human freedoms."

"We believe that your attendance at the opening ceremonies, rightly or not, would send the implicit message to the world that the United State condones the intolerance that has been demonstrated by these actions of the Chinese government," the letter said.

Aren't the Democrats always yapping about reaching out to countries, including our enemies?

Aren't the Dems always saying that the Bush administration squandered all the post-9/11 goodwill directed toward the United States and we need to repair broken relationships with other countries?

Don't the Dems complain whenever the Bush administration stands firm on its policy of not negotiating with terrorists?

Aren't the Dems constantly calling for dialogue with every tyrant and terrorist on the planet?

Yes.

Nonetheless, in spite of the cries to keep diplomatic channels open with the most brutal thugs and human rights violators in the world, Hillary and some of her Dem colleagues (probably most) believe that Bush attending the opening ceremony of the Olympics would send the wrong message to China.

That act alone supposedly would tell the world that the U.S. condones the intolerance that has been demonstrated by the Chinese government.

What a joke!

Yes, forget everything else the Bush administration has done to pressure the Chinese regarding human rights.

Disregard everything except attendance at the opening ceremony.

...Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told lawmakers Wednesday that the United States is looking at the possibility of a U.S. consulate in Tibet. She said the United States has urged China to allow more U.S. diplomats into the region, saying access granted by China so far was not good enough.

"The United States," she added, "has been very active in making the case to the Chinese that they are going to be better off to deal with moderate forces on Tibet like the Dalai Lama; that they should open dialogue with him."

Why has this opening ceremony taken on such importance?

Why has attendance become a sort of test of a leader's support for "basic human freedoms"?

That makes no sense to me. Bush has spent his tenure in office leading the fight for freedom; and the Dems have led persistent attacks against his efforts.

The opening ceremony, a few hours-- That's what matters. That's everything.

Of course, attendance at the games themselves and the closing ceremony wouldn't be a problem at all. For some reason, that wouldn't send the wrong message to the Chinese.

Right.

The IOC knew exactly what it was getting into when it gave China the honor of hosting the Olympics.

The country is ruled by an oppressive communist regime. No kidding.

The IOC permits countries that do not respect the basic human freedoms of its citizens to host the Olympics. So what else is new?

The IOC looked the other way when it received reports that Uday Hussein tortured Iraqis Olympic athletes. Iraq was not expelled from the Olympic community in spite of the fact that the IOC was aware of the atrocities for years.

Let's be honest. The IOC doesn't have a great human rights record.

This whole mess drips with hypocrisy.