Jason,

Please show me where in these statements there is "praise" for China.

It's a simple fact, from a business standpoint, many businesses are looking towards China... that's why we need to reward businesses that stay in America.

The only reward American business needs is for government to get out of its way...maybe an elimination of all corporate taxes would be a good start. But Obama would never do that. Obama believes America is great because of what the government does for its people.

I don't think he's ignorant of history or naive. I think his utopian government is not terribly different than the Chinese government. He's perfectly willing to strip us of our economic liberty and let the government take care of our every need. The scary part is that he's going to decide what we need.

Again it looks as though history is repeating itself. This time with someone who is promising that he is what the people have been waiting for here in America. Almost the same words a man in Germany used about eighty years ago.

He said he would decide what is best for the people.
Sounds very familiar. The polished exterior with the thorn inside. The man eighty years ago had the press as his propaganda machine. Today is no different. Just more sophisticated.

America has been in trouble for some time by companies leaving town for another greener pasture. The government has let them leave without a whimper of what to do to keep them here. Make those goods overseas but if people don't have good paying jobs here who is going to buy those goods.

China put on a good show during the Olympics. The key word here is "show". They have put to death millions upon millions of their people for disagreeing with their communist policies. No different from Stalin in the Soviet days. And that ugly head is not far away.

Glitz, glamour, and good looks are pushing an agenda that could spell even more trouble for our nation. Hopefully people will wake up to see the possible problems on the horizon. But if they don't show up at the polls nothing will change. Many people today would vote for American Idol over the things that really affect their future.

Time will tell to see where all this will go. As history is retold with new names and faces but with the same underlying problem.
And that problem is lack of attention to ones surroundings.

The Doctor

I'm thinking there is a bit of context here. Maybe context or even the dreaded nuance. A little context which might involve our walking into a disadavantage in the beloved free market by sacrificing investment for waste in an interventionist war.

But it will always be more prudent for the neo-libertarians...excuse me, Repub...(no, better not say that one) to gin up the skeer against the Chi-Coms.

Not saying they aren't bad people. They certainly are. It just seems lately they are more politically convenient.

And my favorite West Wing moment involving the Chinese is Shibboleth

Obama: ...Their ports, their train systems, their airports are all vastly superior to us now.....

CBS News: AP) When 16,000 athletes and officials show up this summer, they will be able to turn the taps and get drinkable water -- something few Beijing residents ever have enjoyed.

But to keep those taps flowing for the Olympics, the city is draining surrounding regions, depriving poor farmers of water. (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/02/27/world/main3883686.shtml)

I dont believe Obama is naive or disregarding history. The context of that statement was about American business.

If the Chinese do not take steps to help stop the genocide in Darfur and to respect the dignity, security, and human rights of the Tibetan people, then the president should boycott the opening ceremonies,” Obama said. “As I have communicated in public and to the president, it is past time for China to respect the human rights of the Tibetan people … a boycott of the opening ceremonies should be firmly on the table, but this decision should be made closer to the games.”

that doesnt sound like someone who is disregarding history.

So now "The Doctor" is comparing Obama to Hitler? nice.

But it will always be more prudent for the neo-libertarians [...] to gin up the skeer against the Chi-Coms.

Your "Morning Wooten" segments would get you arrested in China, Grift. Of course, you know that, but I hate that you insinuate that all of this is just red-baiting.

Obama is too smart not to understand that China's "vastly superior" infrastructure improvements are a Potemkin village hiding the horror that's taking place in its hinterlands.

But I guess it's just the "progressive" mentality to overlook human rights abuses so long as the Leader makes the trains run on time.

[Obama's statements about boycotting the opening ceromonies of the Olympics] doesnt sound like someone who is disregarding history.

Uh, yeah, it does. It sounds very Carteresque. Boycotting the 1980 games certainly showed the USSR we meant business, didn't it?

I don't want this to be a partisan point, however. Most of the talk before these games about whether Bush should forego the opening ceremonies came from the Right. They were just as wrong to suggest this, too.

I don't think people who suggest boycotts really understand the inanity of their proposition. It's as if the Chinese give a damn that the President of the United States shows up to the games. Boycotts are a useless gesture that are made only to make ourselves feel good about "doing something."

"What? You mean President Bush/Obama/McCain isn't coming to the games? We can't have that happen. All right guys, leave the Tibetans alone, and stop censoring the Internet, and let people worship as they wish, and let Taiwan go its separate way, and stop the one-child policy, and ..."

Doug,

Obama (and others) were not suggesting that the United States boycott the entire Beijing Olympics. That would have been "Carteresque".

I was commenting on those "pesky human rights issues" that this thread seems to imply that Obama was naive about or just plain disregarded.

I was commenting on those "pesky human rights issues" that this thread seems to imply that Obama was naive about or just plain disregarded.

And it is my point that, in Obama's words, a "boycott of the opening ceremonies should be firmly on the table" is an empty threat.

So what if the President of the United States skips the opening ceremony? If Obama truly believes that a presidential boycott would have an effect on China's internal policies, then, yes, he is naive.

Also, you're wrong to make a distincition between boycotting the entire games or just boycotting the opening ceremony. Both are meaningless gestures that will have zero effect on a country's behavior, and they are made only to make us feel better about ourselves. In short, they are pointless.

Obama is praising the Chinese system and ostensibly how they got they got to their present state.

As Senator Douglas pointed out, there isn't much in the way of infrustructure outside of Beijing. It is a very different experience outside the city.

I do believe Obama is naive about China and its past. He sounds like the media when they were praising gun control laws in Beijing. Nevermind the fact that China is a communist nation that does not allow private possession in order to keep citizens as slaves. Ask the 65 million people killed by the Chi-Coms about speaking out against their government. Ask the current political prisoners while you're at it.

I also agree that a government sanctioned boycott is empty and pointless, though I personally and purposefully didn't watch the games.

If Obama wants the US to be competitive in the global market, he needs to drop these insane economic proposals, cut the corporate tax rate and pledge to open the market while reducing goverment inteference.

Also, you're wrong to make a distincition between boycotting the entire games or just boycotting the opening ceremony.

Tell that to the athletes

Tell that to the athletes.

The point was about changing China's policies, not hurting athletes' feelings.

Me personally, I agree that Olympic boycotts are empty and pointless. I never agreed with the 1980 boycott. Can you imagine if we would have boycotted in 1936? No Jesse Owens.

Im a fan of the Olympics, I watched as much as I could, and cheered on all the US athletes.

Why not have the officials of the United States Government boycott the opening and the games themselves? What better way for them to demonstrate that they have,will, and do desert their citizens and will not support the lifelong hard work of hundreds of athletes who have trained in most cases for a lifetime to compete in these games.
The Olympic games are about individual dedication and achievement and what better way for the American politician to demonstrate that these are no longer the traits that we want from our citizens.
Jimmy Carter,what an absolute moron, I have often wondered if his IQ was even into the double digit category, because of HIS pride ruined the lives of not only hundreds of the athletes who were deprived of the opportunity to compete after a life of training but was and continues to be an embarrassment to all Americans who believe in the principles of self reliance and hard work.
I guess that is the way most Democraps are ...They want to feel good about themselves but not on their dime.
They always want someone else to make the sacrifice. Much like the current crop of Democraps in office today.
"I want to make a change and a difference in America but I want somebody else to pay the bills."
Much like China the American government is using slave labor and imprisoning it's citizens they just call it income tax.
Don Henderson