Clinton Calls for Bush to Boycott Olympic Opening Ceremony

Joining San Fran Nan, Hillary Clinton is calling for presidential action:

The first high-profile move of the post-Penn campaign:

Clinton is calling on Bush to boycott the Olympics opening ceremony.

An aide confirms the news, reported first -- EXCLUSIVE -- by Drudge.

I don't think Bush is going to pay attention to either Clinton or San Fran Nan. Unlike them he understands that the are bigger issues in the relationship with China than what happens in Tibet. Unless there's a boycott by a significant amount of western countries, I doubt Bush will sign on.

UPDATE: I've thought a little more about this and in my opinion, the president should attend the games regardless of what other world leaders do. Why? It's wrong to politicize the Olympic games - I don't care who the host is. Jimmy Carter was wrong in 1980 to boycott the games because of the activities of the Soviets, and the Eastern Bloc shouldn't have boycotted the 1984 games in retaliation. Nothing was gained from either boycott.

I've taken the liberty of preparing some remarks for President Bush to respond to Hillary and San Fran Nan (note to the White House - you're free to use them, just give me a ride on Air Force One sometime):

"Ladies and gentlemen, I've come today to explain why I have decided to attend the Olympic Games opening ceremony in Beijing, China, over the objections of various political leaders in this country and around the world. The Olympic ideal is achieving peace and understanding through sports, and I don't believe that boycotting the opening ceremony would be a good strategery in dealing with the Chinese government.

World leaders don't attend the games to honor the host country or express approval with that government's actions. Leaders attend the games to honor the athletes of the world and the spirit of fair competition between peoples. I will be attending the ceremonies to express my appreciation to the athletes of the world who have dedicated their lives to excellence in their chosen sport, and to salute and honor our own American team as they represent a free and prosperous nation while competing in the heart of a communist dictatorship.

Besides that, I have a real hankerin' for Kung Pao Chicken and I hear it's pretty good over there."

UPDATE: Bush says he's going to the opening ceremonies. Good for him.