If Governor Duval can visit Amherst, the alien outreach of his Taxachusetts empire, then President Bush can and should visit China for the Olympic opening ceremonies.
Not that he listens to his critics—and no president in US history has had such virulent critics. But some folks are calling on President Bush to pull a Jimmy Carter and boycott the opening ceremonies next month beginning precisely at the lucky moment 8:08:08 pm, August 8, 2008.
The Olympics is all about sport—healthy competition that breeds mutual understanding. When you mix politics with sport you end up with a Munich Massacre. “They’re all gone,” reported Jim McKay to a stunned world over 35 years ago. And the Olympics have never been the same.
The Chinese people are sooooo proud of this upcoming extravaganza. The Olympic mascots seem to emblazon everything.
The debacle of the Olympic torch relay—especially during the Tibet crisis—seems to have passed, negated by world sympathy and the quick response of the communist government to the devastating earthquake. And in China--as in the US--THAT awful day is remembered in shorthand, simply by the numerals: 5/12.
Tibet, unlike the students at Tiananmen Square, received little sympathy in China--perhaps because many Chinese considered it a PR stunt designed to cash in on the Olympics. Or maybe because China’s One-Child policy does not apply to Tibet (only to Han Chinese that comprise about 90% of the population)
Or because China invested so very heavily in an expensive train system to connect Tibet to the homeland.
Everywhere we went the people were as inquisitive as they were courteous. In one hotel room Donna dropped a 100 Yuan note ($15 US dollars) on the floor after we had exchanged some travelers checks. The young man cleaning the room (who probably made less than that per day) left it on my computer under a piece of chocolate.
On an over packed shuttle bus (ubiquitous in China) to our air terminal another young man gets up and sacrifices his seat to my daughter, Kira. And at the airport check in, while I was holding Jada and Donna was fumbling with our passports, an older man behind us in line lifts our heavy bags unto the conveyor.
Yes Mr. President, we need to stay on friendly terms with such an already-emerged Superpower. You’re already halfway there, as The People are as friendly as can be.
(But since you are destined to hang with the power elite, you may want to think about jet black hair polish.)
The problem with Bush is that he's more likely to make some snarky crack about Moo Goo Gai Pan than engage his host with respect.
ReplyDeleteMaybe he'll offer him a back rub like he did with Merkel or maybe he'll joke about how much he is reminded that he likes Chinese because of the cuisine, like he did with Philippine President Gloria Arroyo.
The man is an embarrassment. God bless America.
Yeah, and his dad threw up on the Japanese Prime Minister.
ReplyDeleteI see the office more so than the man (or woman). And having the President of the United States attending this country at this time (like having the most disgraced President in history visit in 1972)is a good thing
At least both Bushs were able to keep their pants on -- unlike William Jefferson Clinton and John F. Kennedy (and then James Earl Carter's Playboy interview comes to mind).
ReplyDeleteNixon, Ford, Bush & Bush -- four men whom you could trust to be around your daughters. Doesn't that mean more than - say - having enough courage to keep going while seriously ill even if you do throw up on the Japanese Ambassidor?
Isn't that better than bombing the Chinese Embassy, as Clinton did?
I do take some exception to your comments about Tibet, in particular where you mention how China has worked so hard to build a railroad to connect Tibet to "the home country."
ReplyDeleteThat's the problem: China isn't the "home country" for Tibetans. Tibet is their home country. China is an occupying power trying to dissolve Tibet's identity as a nation.
Yeah, and the same can be said for Taiwan. Well, except for the "occupy" part.
ReplyDeleteAnd I was glad to see commercial air service start up to that island a few weeks back.
This morning's news of terror bomb attacks on buses not far from where I was is disconcerting.
I love the way that the conventional wisdom is trotted out on a daily basis on this blog.
ReplyDeleteSo the phrase "pull a Jimmy Carter" is used without any reflection.
There were undoubtedly many causes of the fall of the Soviet Union, and who's to say that Carter's refusal to legitimate its brutality with his attendance at their Olympics in 1980 was not one of them? Our athletes paid a price that year, and it was worth it. In less than a decade, the regime and its grinding system ceased to exist.
It's time to grow up, get beyond the cheap historical stereotyping, and take another look at Carter's presidency.
If our president had the courage and intelligence to do real hard-nosed face-to-face diplomacy, as Jimmy Carter did many times, going to China would be great. But being realistic, he's not up to it, and his most eloquent gesture on behalf of untold millions of fellow humans in China and the global environment would be to stay home.
Rich Morse
Oh THAT's where Republicans draw the line, at President.
ReplyDeleteSo if Nixon and other Republican presidents kept their pants on, they pass the litmus test for presidential leadership and rule of law (like how I snuck that in, the rule of law thing - ahem Nixon, Reagan) but when it comes to Republican Senators you don't care if they like to wear diapers with the DC and New Orleans madams or solicit sex in airport bathrooms with other men, pretend they are NOT gay, are continue to serve in office. Where's the outrage from the right? When will Amherst Republicans demand the resignation of Vitter and Larry Craig, and (who was that Congressmen from Florida who liked to diddle with congressional pages), all Republicans. It's a hypocritical bull cocky.
Carter brokered a peace between Israel and Egypt and now (yes NOW) he is trying to shape the terms of the debate to broker a peace between Israel and Palestine. This conflict, the Arab/Isreali conflict, is the fundamental issue Arab Muslims have against the USA. You want to talk about what Bush has accomplished in this front? Yeah, he kept his pants.
When do we get to redeploy the troops from Bush's war of choice in Iraq so we can fight the Taliban and Osama bin Laden on the boarder of Afghanistan and Pakistan? Remember Osama bin Laden?
As long as he keeps his pants on...
ReplyDeleteAsked by ABC's Diane Sawyer Monday morning whether the "the situation in Afghanistan in precarious and urgent," McCain responded:
"I think it's serious. . . . It's a serious situation, but there's a lot of things we need to do. We have a lot of work to do and I'm afraid it's a very hard struggle, particularly given the situation on the Iraq/Pakistan border," said McCain, R-Ariz., said on "Good Morning America."
Iraq and Pakistan do not share a border. Afghanistan and Pakistan do.
China Farce:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSPEK27651320080720
Either China is what it claims to be or it isn't. I am thinking Hitler and the 1936 Olympics....