Perino suggests Bush may boycott Olympics opening ceremony.
Perino suggests Bush may boycott Olympics opening ceremony.
Last February, President Bush said definitively that he would attend the Olympic games this summer in Beijing because he “view[s] the Olympics as a sporting event.” Since then, House Speaker Nanci Pelosi (D-CA) and Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) have urged Bush to at least boycott the opening ceremony, something various world leaders have said they would do. But today, CNN’s Ed Henry reports that when asked if Bush would attend the opening ceremony, White House press secretary Dana Perino “hedged,” thereby “leaving the door open for the very first time to the possibility of the President skipping the opening ceremonies in China.” Watch it:
Most recently, human rights activists in the U.S. and Europe have protested the traditional Olympic torch relay which has led the International Olympic Committee to consider “abandoning the international legs” of the relay.
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28 Responses to “Perino suggests Bush may boycott Olympics opening ceremony.”
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George will send the CEO of Wal-Mart to fill in for him.
April 8th, 2008 at 7:07 pmIf so, it will have only took him 7+ years to do something right.
April 8th, 2008 at 7:08 pmI don’t care if GDumbya attends the opening ceremonies or not.
However, I will be extremely disappointed if he decides to not suit up and compete in the javelin-catching event. I am looking forward to him getting the gold medal!
April 8th, 2008 at 7:14 pmSince the opening ceremony will run past 9:00 pm the real reason for the boycott isn’t a protest over China’s human rights record, something Bush is not qualified to speak on, but that it cuts into his sleepy time.
April 8th, 2008 at 7:15 pmHmm… if the opening ceremonies are boycotted by the leaders of nations which uphold human rights, seems like Bush should put in an appearance. At least get some face time on NBC, right?
April 8th, 2008 at 7:18 pmSkipping the games entirely is the only way to make a statement. Not that anyone in BushCo would understand something like human rights.
April 8th, 2008 at 7:18 pmIf Perino says he may boycott, the safe money is on W attending.
April 8th, 2008 at 7:25 pmAfter all, she gets paid to lie. I don’t think she can break the habit.
Dick Cheney says, “So?”
April 8th, 2008 at 7:27 pmSomeone better explain to Shrub that a boycott has nothing to do with adolescent males and roll-away beds…
April 8th, 2008 at 7:31 pmor “opening” ceremonies….
April 8th, 2008 at 7:33 pmLet’s do it right! No Chinese food in the Senate’s cafeteria. Rename the White House china “freedom ware”. Borrow some more money from the Chinese to fund the occupation of Iraq. Oh, wait scratch that last one.
/snark off
April 8th, 2008 at 7:34 pmdont you know, the chinese are just “fighting terror”, who could begrudge a government a few human rights violations in the name of keeping it population “safe” from “terrorists”?
April 8th, 2008 at 7:36 pmWELL DUH.
Fed minutes: Officials worried about deep recessio
WASHINGTON — Worries about a deep recession — not a shallow one — drove Federal Reserve policymakers to slash a key interest rate last month, meeting minutes show.
LINK
April 8th, 2008 at 7:39 pmThe upside of the snub is that it might build some “soft power” and rebuild European alliances. But there is little chance that this snub will create grassroots pressure on the Chinese government for change.
I discuss this more here:
http://elvaliente.wordpress.com/ 2008/ 04/ 08/ clinton-china-and-change/
April 8th, 2008 at 8:38 pmIf he doesn’t show up I doubt it will be for any important or thoughtful reason on his part. He’ll probably just think it looks boring and not feel like going… or maybe he’ll show up and try to skip out early like he does at press conferences.
April 8th, 2008 at 9:18 pmI hear the monkey (animals) will be performing in the opening ceremony.
As bush says, he will be “fabulous”.
April 8th, 2008 at 10:33 pmGeorgie not showing up for the opening ceremonies will probably not make a big difference to any officials in Europe. They already consider him a laughing stock. A man with no couth or sophistication that you would expect from someone in his position.
Daddy forgot to send Georgie to Miss Manners classes, that obvious.
I don’t think he should attend because of the human rights violations, but what does he care about a few laws being broken. He breaks our laws on a daily basis with zero consequences.
April 8th, 2008 at 10:53 pmOT
For those who missed todays trollfest, it seems that the stakes are going up. Multiple threats of violence, porn links and plenty of other despicable shenanigans. I strongly urge you all to be VERY selective about links from “non-regulars”. There’s no telling what kind of infections the punks might try to unleash.
G’night good people.
April 8th, 2008 at 11:41 pmYou too trolls.
Freedom Rebel Says:
April 8th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
I don’t think he should attend because of the human rights violations, but what does he care about a few laws being broken. He breaks our laws on a daily basis with zero consequences.
exactly - and how about the japanese human rights violations against china before the first world war? - 400,000 massacred in nanjing alone - and what the hell is the big deal with tibet??? - i don’t get it? - do these protesters in europe actually know or give a s**t about tibetans?….how about protesting against the family from outside of tibet that were incinerated in their own home in
April 9th, 2008 at 12:34 amlahsa?
and while everyone is so worried about the chimp not fronting at the games because of human rights issues,then he should also boycott the saudis full stop.
#3 tom Says:
April 8th, 2008 at 7:14 pm
However, I will be extremely disappointed if he decides to not suit up and compete in the javelin-catching event. I am looking forward to him getting the gold medal!
Thanks, Tom, for the best laugh I’ve had all day. That is a classic :)
April 9th, 2008 at 1:02 am.
Isn’t this a double standard?
China gets shunned by an oppressive tyrant because China has been an oppressive tyrannical force in their occupation of another country… ?
That’s rich, real rich. And the continued occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq is nothing? Bush’s war and occupation has killed far more in the last seven years than China has during the same period.
.
April 9th, 2008 at 1:47 amBush views everything as a sporting event. Its all about winning or loosing, success or failure, stay the course or cut and run.
April 9th, 2008 at 4:31 amThe best diplomatic policy for long term solutions with China is not going to be from skipping the Olympics, it is going to come from extending opportunities for democracy.
April 9th, 2008 at 7:16 amAs if anyone in the rest of the world would give a single shiit if we did boycott the opening ceremony. We have NO MORAL AUTHORITY to question the actions of ANY government, thanks to Bush and his fellow war criminals.
On top of that, boycotting the opening ceremony would be nothing more than a circus act. If we really cared about the people of Tibet, or China’s other human rights issues, we’d boycott the games altogether, as well as yank China’s status as a favored trading partner.
Our elected officials are nothing more than attention-needing, power-hungry poseurs. Fluck them all!
April 9th, 2008 at 9:37 am“Perino suggests Bush may boycott Olympics opening ceremony.”
It’s a freshly discovered taste for ethics or perhaps he hates all the foreing countries and doesn’t give a damn about peaceful meetings?
April 9th, 2008 at 11:36 amtom@3: Me too. I would pay big dough to see that one.
Ah, the Olympics - the stuff of hopes and dreams.
April 9th, 2008 at 6:21 pmBush does not have the moral high ground to make any statements about Chinese violations of human rights…he lives in a moral swamp.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:04 pmThe Bush Administration will go down as a stain on history.
USA wants china to give up its Communist idology, envious capitalist USA wants civil war in China and make it like Middle East.
July 2nd, 2008 at 4:25 amUSA will never succed in destroying China by its DIVIDE AND RULE POLICY, on the other hand China will be super power in next 20 Years as its Economy is growing by 15 %, Olympics is a boost to is success story and Economy, baced by Russia, Iran and Islamic Worls, China will be the largest Military and Economic Might. USA on the other hand is loosing its Economic and Military might and Technological superiority and is using the Media to spread hate stories and Propoganda against China by instigating Muslim Uighur of Urmique area and Tibetians. I wants a civil war like Afghanistan’s Taliban and Al Quida,which was made by USA to destroy USSR. so it is now creating Buddist Fundamentalists like Dalai Lama. India and E U will be behind USA. howver they will fail and China and Middle East will be successful.