Common Sense

This week, the president of China came for a visit. After staying the night in Washington state and having dinner at Bill Gates’ house, he was off to the White House for a really big reception on the South Lawn.

Everyone being a comedian, a journalist started heckling Hu Jintao from the cameras before being led off. Paul Begala had this to say on Thursday’s Situation Room:

Now, I — the president has to welcome the head of state of the largest nation on Earth. And, in our president’s defense, not a position I’m often in, in his prepared remarks he spoke out quite forcefully about human rights. He said, China has done well by having a more liberal economic policy, more freedom in the economy. You should have more freedom in people’s personal lives in the government as well.

Where he missed a chance, though, was when that woman started to protest and heckle. And I — I watched it live. And I thought, what would Ronald Reagan do? What would Bill Clinton do? There’s a classic example right there to teach President Hu, because you could see — now, I’m imagining this, but you could see in President Hu’s — sort of, in his head, he’s thinking, isn’t this the time when the tanks roll in and crush them? That’s what we do in my country with protesters.

I would have to agree with that. But then I would wonder what happened to the real President Bush because that would be so unlike him.

Kudos go to Reuters for their clever headline and sober analysis of the vist.

The summit’s symbolism and rhetoric were largely positive but U.S. officials said there was no significant movement on America’s $202 billion annual trade deficit or the problem of Iran and North Korea’s nuclear programs despite President George W. Bush’s specific request for China’s help.

“This is a win-win visit for Hu and a lose-lose visit for Bush,” said John Thacik of the conservative Heritage Foundation, where suspicions about Beijing run strong.