Obama: Put Olympics Opening Ceremony Boycott On The Table

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) on Wednesday called for President Bush to consider a boycott of the opening ceremonies of the summer Olympic games if the Chinese don't take steps on Tibet and Darfur.

Obama had been considering how to respond to the question of whether Bush should boycott the opening ceremonies for several days. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) said Bush should not go. The White House seems to be keeping its options open. Chicago is making a bid for the 2016 games and any kind of a boycott has the potential of eroding the city's bid with the International Olympic committee.

Keep reading the entire article.

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* Complete coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Torch Relay

* Speaker Nancy Pelosi: On the San Francisco Olympic Torch Relay

* Adrienne Maree Brown: The Whole World Is Screaming: Free Tibet

Comments

[NoMoreHawks]

BOYCOTT THE Beijing 2008 Olympics!

World governments can shove alot down our throats.... but not EVERYTHING!

These Olympics are shameful and how did the PRC react to receiving the honor of hosting them?

By opening fire on unarmed Tibetans in Lhasa...!

The Chinese government is ignorant about FREEDOM!

Ignorance sucks, period.

Bottom line is that China doesn't deserve squat, they torture their own people by the masses and repress the Tibetans just for practicing their religious rights and KILLS them!

I wish the Tibetan people all the hope in the world and will do my small part to pass on the word for their cause.

BOYCOTT The SPONSORS and SUPPLIERS of the Beijing 2008 Olympics who include:

-Microsoft

-Coca-Cola

-McDonalds

-Kodak

-GE (and NBC)

-PriceWaterhouseCoopers

-Staples

-Johnson&Johnson

-Panasonic

-Samsung

-VISA

-Adidas

-Volkswagen

-UPS

-Snickers

-Schenker Logistics

[Seattlelite]

To go or not to go - nothing but grandstanding with no substance. If our leaders are serious about making a statement in regards to China human rights policies then whey don't they stop trading with them and stop taking their money --- until they are ready to do that they should just shut the hell up.

[Syco]

Has anyone actually considered what point would be proven by boycotting the Olympics?

[Seattlelite]

Syco - yes I have considered it and boycotting the Olympics is not going to change China's human rights policies. And until other countries are ready to cut off the pipe line to China they are not going to change their policies.

[Syco]

But you don't seem to be making it a Bama Hil issue maybe thats why

[IRIE]

In Reference to the Boycotting of the olympics:


JOE KLEIN, COLUMNIST, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Yes, I think that what Obama is doing, what you call what he's doing is acting presidentially, and what Hillary Clinton is doing is acting politically and desperately. You know, Fareed Zakaria earlier in this program talked about Chinese pride and face in China is even more important than money.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0804/09/ec.01.html

[rojo7449]

You do know who Joe Klein is, don't you? Not a journalist who I find myself aligning with on opinions.

[Bulbul]

Joe Klein , wrote a book and made a bundle, and now he is foaming at the mouth as CNN analyst , gathering gossips for the next book....

[IRIE]

I could care less about your opinion. Go away

[HaveyouPerspective]

How do you feel about Fareed Zakaria? He was the individual whom Klein is referring to. Zakaria is exactly on the money with his statements.

[apresdeluge]

I am glad you posted this quote from Joe Klein. I was going to. It shows how "in the tank" he is for Obama. Yesterday he said Hillary's call for a boycott was acting political and Obama's lack of a decision was "presidential". BS. Obama is waiting until he sees which way the wind is blowing before announcing his opinion. Same think Bush is doing. That is NOT presidential, it is acting political; just like his "present" votes in the Illinois Senate. As usual, Joe Klein got it exactly opposite.

[HaveyouPerspective]

How much do you know of China, their social customs and their politics? Try listening and learning, rather than reacting.

[HaveyouPerspective]

And, in truth, it was Fareed Zakaria, CNN World Affairs Analyst, that was making the statements.

[HaveyouPerspective]

This is very true. Klein does understand something of the Chinese and "Face". Having lived there for years and having business relations with the Chinese, this is a more proper approach Obama is taking.

[globality]

It's funny how people will debate wether we should boycott the Olympics to protest against China, but would not even consider cutting trade with China.

[cblcar]

So typical of Obama. Wait until Hillary comes out with a position, then copy it. Way to show leadership. NOT!

[loria]

Please. Hillary has come out after many of the candidates on issues. It's no wonder Elizabeth Edwards likes Hillary's healthcare plan, it's essentially John's plan that he introduced long before.

[rojo7449]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDb8-A8Q7l8

[loria]

By the way, Obama spoke out about the violence against the Tibetan Buddhist monks back when the when the Chinese tried to quell the peaceful protests of the monks and killed several of them (3-15-08). That is the issues that has created the suggestion about boycotting the Olympics. So, instead of suggesting the boycott of the Olympics at that time he condemned the violence in response to peaceful protests and called to the Chinese government to respect the basic rights of the Tibetan people and to disclose the whereabouts of the detained monks. So, it's not as if Obama just found out about China, Tibet, and Sudan yesterday. He's been talking about this for a long time.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gYNrWbklSBpsRs1XZi1FyS8L0qrA

[ddlrid]

YEAH!!! Like the way he copied her stance on going to war with Iraq, voting for Kyl-Lieberman, her support of NAFTA, and her plan to merely tweak DOMA and not repeal it entirely...he is such a copy cat, that Obama. Oh, and let's not forget how he copied her 'big state' only campaign strategy, absolutely stole her plan to NOT have to campaign beyond February's Super Tuesday ('cause of course he'd have the nom all sewn up by then!), and stole her ideas to stiff her campaign creditors while using a scorched earth strategy to destroy democrats' chances of winning the White House in November. Shameless, I say!

[maxwellinformed]

Hard to boycott a country we are LITERALLY INDEBTED to thanks to the war in Iraq. We should be lucky they are not protesting us. So I too disagree with, although still support, Obama on this issue.

[TekTami78]

I LOVE this! Hillary saw the protests taking place during the torch relay and decided to call on the President to boycott the opening ceremony of the Olympics - and call out Sen. McCain and Sen. Obama to do the same. She thought it would earn her some points and show that human side she seems to have such a hard time holding onto. Not to mention that it's a populist stance.

She didn't have much luck trying to convince people that she was opposed to the Iraq war BEFORE Obama, and she didn't have much luck with her other "me, too! me, too!" claims. But all of a sudden here she is with this, and people seem to think that Sen. Obama is jumping onto some sort of bandwagon because he's saying that the Pres. should consider it?

Hillary did not think about her position at all - it was a reactionary position that she thought would earn her support from the public. She has not expressed any plans to solve the human rights issues in China through diplomacy or other means. And this is the same candidate who likes to tout how she helped bring peace to Ireland.

Sen. Obama, on the other hand, actually thought about the diplomatic and financial ramifications of his position. I'm sorry, but I prefer my leaders to THINK, calmly and rationally, and not have their opinions spoon-fed to them by news or polls.

[Wheatstraw]

Yahtzee! You hit the nail on the head with that one!

[missmarg]

Have to disagree. This is a no brainer. Boycot the opening ceremony, but still support the athletes by letting them compete. I am proud Hillary took the stand. I find it very worrying that Obama didn't have a response ready, and had to think about it.

[gwhizz]

Ah, I was wondering how the Obomination would spin this.

Sorry, Barack you're a day late and a dollar short on this one.

[Syco]

I don't think we should boycott it in any way at all.

[HaveyouPerspective]

How so?

Please regale us with your knowledge of Chinese customs and your dealings with them. Perhaps if you had some clearer understanding of the Chinese, their social norms and basic diplomacy you would grasp the nuance of what Obama is attempting.

If not, then good luck with your nominee.

[rojo7449]

LOL - WHAT position has Obama taken? He's doing his careful dance around the issue hoping something will happen before he has to actually take a position. "should consider...." is NOT a position. Now, let's say Bush is the ONLY foreign leader in attendance at the Olympics, and he gets pelted with raw eggs and tomatoes." THAT'S when Obama will state what his position WOULD HAVE been if he had been asked directly by Bush.

[butchie65]

The laugh is on you, the people on news channels this morning said he is more Presidential. He thinks before he jumps in and gives a quick answer. Hillary thought she would get a brownie badge by jumping in so quick. The tables turned on her, she is being laughed at, not Obama. A President doesn't just jump in quickly, she was playing politics, that's all.

[apresdeluge]

Your post is one of the sorriest attempts at spin I've seen in a long time. Very Orwellian.

[HaveyouPerspective]

Do you know what Orwellian means?

More importantly, do you care to take a moment to think about this post and respond to it thoughtfully, and with a measured and diplomatic approach? Perhaps you could even do some analysis, point by point?

Or are you going to prove TekTami78's point for them?

P.S. If you know anything about the Chinese, you understand instantly that Obama's approach is the correct one.

[democratsaint]

lets just go ahead and kill the olympics. they are a fake anyways. the olympics was about amatuer atheletes,those days are gone.heck i remeber a winter olmypic when a guy wanted to do the a ski even for england,which it didnt have an entry for,and they tried to stop him cause he was an amatuer. ever since we lost in basektball and now send pro the games have lost all meaning.kill them and rebuild it from scratch.

[Bulbul]

What took you so long Senetor Obama ? Couldn`t you have said it before Nancy or Hillary ?
May be you were waiting to see what Hillary has to say....

and then weigh in the speech....

[Wheatstraw]

Its called thinking before you speak

[OsamaBushLadin]

No it's called "stick your finger in the air and see which way the wind blows".

[gwhizz]

And THAT is called "spin".

[Wheatstraw]

There is a big difference in trying to speak first to “look tough”, rather than thinking fast and speaking slow...Obama does the later.
Let’s say we follow HRC advice and not attend the opening ceremony...this looks decisive...she looks like a leader...this also looks like we just let our mouths write a check that our a$$ could not cash. China comes back and say...fine...don’t attend...If the U.S wants to “posture’..so can we...take your bonds and stick them where the sun don’t shine....you think we are in a recession now...How would you like a depression!...
Now is not the time to “look or act tough” ...right now is a time for diplomacy...so HRC...keep running off at the jibs!

[rojo7449]

Based on what I've seen in unscripted interviews and debates, Obama thinks very slow.

"should consider...." I'm trying to figure out how you O supporters see that as a position. It's a typical Obama maneuver. Say something that can't be considered a firm stand so you can spin it later, as needed.

[Bulbul]

Learned his lesson on the eve of Bhutto`s death, came on to CNN and uttered without thinking, Pakistan should not postponed the election, etc.etc.... that was a total blunder on his part.
So now he thinks.....and thinks...

[BlueOnBlue]

I was at the town hall meeting yesterday where Obama made his first statement about the Chinese and the Olympics in response to an audience question. What struck me about it was not that he was off base in allowing for a possible boycott of the opening ceremonies, but that he was off base in asking this of the current president.

Under Bush, the United States has lost its moral standing. We simply can't be the ones telling other countries how to behave. How dare we say China should treat Tibet better as we remain occupiers of Iraq? How dare we lecture anyone about genocide in Africa when we ignored it for so long?

On the other hand, a country with principled leadership, with its own moral house in order, could do these things. That's why I still support Obama. I continue to believe he is the best choice to provide such leadership and restore America to its rightful place in the world.

[DoPaisa]

I'm as supporter of Barack Obama but I was very disappointed with his statement about the Olympics.
Most of you may not agree but in my opinion in the matters of foreign affairs, if you want your opponent countries to come to your way of thinking, you should do it with diplomacy and sensitivity. Otherwise such public statements only insult the other nation and most often pushes them back to a more hardened position.

Tibetan issue for the Chinese is a very difficult one; they believe the Dalai Lama is Budha reincarnate (even though Dalai Lama says he's an ordinary man) and therefore hold him in a higher political position than any government Chinese or otherwise. Besides China has several ethnic groups like the U.S. and by encouraging separatists will create huge problems for it.

As for the Democratic candidates' positions, I have never heard any comments from them about rigged elections in Egypt and their jails full of dissidents. I haven't heard of any positions expressed about the rights of women and minorities in Arab countries and child labour in India and Bangladesh.

I believe Obama is a different sort of candidate and that's why I'm supporting him and that is all the more reason I'm disappointed in him that he made this statement just for one-upmanship with Clinton's position. U.S. has toppled 37 democratic governments in the past 50 years and we have supported several dictatorships under both our parties. We shouldn't forget that.

[ErikW65]

I suspect Barack is ambivalent, because on the one hand he supports the basic concept of self-determination for Tibet, but on the other, more pragmatic side, the idea that China would back down because of international pressure, and free Tibet...that's not plausible. China is much too recalcitrant. Furthermore, history suggests that while the Olympics are a typical venue for protests, boycotting doesn't do anything constructive. The athletes suffer, and the host country pretends as if they never existed.

[flyguy14222]

Why is HuffPo removing selected posts? Just so happens they are pro-Hillary posts. Are you trying to chase us all away?

[Triangulate]

Don't cry, flyguy 14222. I'm an Obama supporter and they removed my post, too, despite not using inappropriate or racially charged language. That's why I don't read the Huff Post as much as I used to.

[Bulbul]

They chucK mine a lot , so you are right....

[panchovilla]

This really disappoints me about Obama. Given its tremendous cost on lives (American and non-American) and treasury, the reform of our foreign policy is a top priority. It's not up to Obama or American politicians to dictate how China should conduct their political affairs. That's up to them. As per their internationally recognized borders, Tibet is a part of China. Apparently Tibet was a part of China centuries before Westerners messed things up in Asia. Even the Dalai Lama says he's not for splitting from China. It is as if people in Texas felt (justifiably or not) oppressed by the rest of the U.S. and demanded autonomy. It'd be their right, but they would have to process their grievances through the political system without foreign interference. How would we feel if Chinese politicians used that issue for grandstanding or to advance their interests? The basis of our foreign policy needs to be the Golden Rule: We shouldn't do unto others what we don't want others to do unto us. What moral authority do we have, under Bush or Clinton or Obama (who refuse to call for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of our troops in Iraq)? We invaded and are occupying Iraq illegally; reduced Fallujah to ruins; created Abu Ghraib; are occupying Guantanamo (which we've turned into a prison above all laws), a bay that belongs to the Cubans. I thought Obama stood for change.

[instagladiator]

BRAVO! Very well said pancho, I could not agree more.

[OsamaBushLadin]

Nice way to rationalize genocide on Tibet and Dafur. This position is exactly how the PRC wants us to see it.