Obama joins Clinton, urges President Bush to boycott Olympic

[Cappster]

LEVITTOWN, Pa. (AP)—Barack Obama joined Democratic presidential rival Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday in calling for President Bush to boycott the opening ceremonies for the Olympic Games in Beijing.

Clinton had commended British Prime Minister Gordon Brown for announcing that he will skip the August ceremonies in China’s capital, and called on Obama and likely Republican presidential nominee John McCain to join her in urging Bush to do the same.

Obama did later in the day; his campaign issued a statement in which, for the first time, he urged Bush to boycott the festivities.

Activists are urging world leaders to stay away from the ceremonies to underscore concerns about China’s human rights record, its handling of recent unrest in Tibet and its relationship with Sudan.

Obama said a boycott “should be firmly on the table,” but that a decision should be made closer to the Games.

“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,” he 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, to allow foreign journalists and diplomats access to the region, and to engage the Dalai Lama in meaningful talks about the future of Tibet.”

Obama previously had said he was conflicted about U.S. participation, but that “there should be consequences” for China if it does not take steps to respect rights and freedoms in Tibet.

Clinton said Bush should use the threat of a boycott to exert leverage on the Chinese government.

“I believe that the president should not attend the opening ceremonies because that is giving a seal of approval by our United States government,” she told reporters near Pittsburgh on Wednesday.

McCain spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan said he condemns “the brutal oppression” the Chinese have inflicted on Tibetans, and thinks the president should monitor the situation and “keep his options open.”

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Is this the experience in foreign policy that those two jokers talk about having so much experience in? What is the point of boycotting the opening ceremony? Seriously, lets mind our own business, because who are we to hold other countries responsible for humans rights violations? If they were soooooooo bad, we should pull our manufacturing companies out of China and bring them back here. China has the upper hand at the moment (population, thriving economy) so I don't think we should be pissing on them and their opening ceremony party.

[GSPODS]

We should be pissing on China and taking our outsourced jobs back because China doesn't care about lead poisoning our children.
Who cares about Tibet if we can't put our own children's interests first?

[KazooSkinsFan]

I'm laughing now because I was outraged when China got the Olympics in the first place for exactly this reason. They hold Tibet and their own people captive. Now suddenly people care about oppression. Nothing has changed with China. Just the uninformed and unconcerned reacted to what they saw.

[GSPODS]

I'm laughing now because I was outraged when China got the Olympics in the first place for exactly this reason. They hold Tibet and their own people captive. Now suddenly people care about oppression. Nothing has changed with China. Just the uninformed and unconcerned reacted to what they saw.

People only care about their own oppression, or perceived oppression.
See a large amount of Black America, Welfare Mothers, etc. in our own country for the results of perceived oppression.

The rest of the discussion is activist bullsh|t rhetoric. We won't be doing anything about the oppression other than verbally declaring war on it. But it somehow makes some people feel better about themselves to take up every cause under the sun. Always some third-world country cause too, never about bettering America. Fvck 'Em. Kill 'Em All and Let whatever false God they believe in sort them out later.

I didn't see in the past, and still don't see any other country jumping on a "Let's Help America" activist bandwagon. And if there is a God, he or she knows we need more help than any human is capable of, but we're more concerned about everything than we are about self-preservation.