Clinton has her eye on the ball here. The only chance the Tibetan people have against the genocide being waged against them by the Chinese government is for international pressure to be brought to bear on china.

Obama does not usually copy Clinton, it's usually the other way around.

So don't expect the same sort of ME TOO response from Obama that Clinton might deliver under these circumstances.

It will be extremely disappointing if Obama follows suit with a similar position on the issue.  How does boycotting the opening ceremony accomplish anything more than 'saber-rattling' with China?  This is nothing more than a shallow attempt to embarrass the Chinese government without putting any real pressure on them to make any of the changes we want them to make.  

We won't be able to embarrass them into making changes - they are a proud and nationalistic country.  What we can do is work with them and nudge them towards making the changes we desire in the larger and more complex context of foreign/trade policy along with the EU. The political capital with China we can gain my NOT boycotting maybe more useful than whatever we might gain by embarrassing China on the world's stage.

I see this latter approach as more fitting within Obama's 'dignity-based foreign policy' approach - but we'll see if he ends up taking the more politically convenient route.

I think it's a good thing to boycott the ceremony. This won't be the same as Carter forcing the athletes to boycott. Let the athletes compete, but there is no need for the ceremonial participation where we help China with their propaganda. China is out of control. What they did with TIbet is worse than what Saddam did with Kuwait.

Actually forbidding your athletes to compete only hurts the athletes themselves.

Boycotts are purely symbolic gestures (unless I suppose the entirety of the developed would boycott them) so on a symbolic level it works for heads of state to boycott the ceremonies.

First time in a very long while that I find myself agreeing with Hillary Clinton.

Good for Clinton. This makes me feel like I can get behind either candidate. I support Obama, but a move like this while pathetically symbolic gives me hope that Clinton will do right by us progressives.

Good on Clinton for leading the way on this issue.

A little disappointing to see that her campaign leaked it to drudge.  Not uncommon practice but I don't know why Democrats think they are rewarded when they do that.

Am I the only one that feels that (sadly) America -- and President Bush in particular -- isn't in any position to criticize a country's treatment of another country?

It's smart.  It also covers up some of the happenings in her campaign recently.  I don't know that an all out boycott is going to happen or if it's the right way to go about it.  I don't think China will care if there are people missing, more medals for them.

China owns our ASS.  We aren't going to do anything that is too politically unsavory.

Would it happen? Nope.  

This issue is bound to get much more coverage here in the US as the torch arrives here this week and considering the next stop in the torch's relay -- San Francisco -- it's bound to be snuffed out quite a few more times before it leaves.

It would be great if you were right but I frankly don't see the involvement by citizens of this country that is necessary to effect serious change.

Furthermore, if the Administration can keep protesters so far at bay when Bush is making an appearance it seems reasonable to assume that they will do so for the Olympic torch also.  God help the first person who's arrested for interfering.  They'll probably get ten years in prison as an example to anyone else foolish enough to go against the jackboots.

The Dalai Lama and the Tibetan 'resistance' have been tools of the CIA for decades. Don't be fooled into getting distracted by another silly season non-issue.

http://edstrong.blog-city.com/china_tibe t_ciasponsored_uprising.htm

I see a trend here.

Clinton always leads and Obama follows her lead.

That is not leadership.

"Clinton/Obama is unbeatable"

President was right as usual.

umm... who says any of you that agree with Hillary are right?

Unfortunately, and due to our resident idiot du jour, China owns are asses (sort of ).

They could pull the plug on the huge debt we owe and banks would literally spiral down the drain.

If her husband wouldn't have made such secret deals with them while he was president maybe they wouldn't be such the super power that they are now.

I think Obama may come out and oppose this idea of boycotting.  We need to continue bridging the gap and mending the fence with China and other places.  To cause division now is probably not the best idea, especially over something as trivial as Olympics.

What if the rest of the world stopped travelling to the USA in protest because we have been murdering Iraqis by the thousands?