Hillary Clinton Urges President Bush to Skip Opening Ceremonies, Not Boycott the Games

Presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton is calling on President Bush to boycott the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics. But that raises the question: Why stop at the Opening Ceremonies? Why not boycott the whole Olympics? She explains her rationale:

"I don't believe that that's the right approach to take," Clinton said of boycotting the Games. "What we're trying to do is influence the Chinese government, so it's a government-to-government effort that I'm recommending. I believe President Bush should not attend the Opening Ceremonies.

"But the Olympics themselves is a much broader movement that goes beyond governments. It may be hosted by China in Beijing, but it isn't a Chinese event, it is an international event. There is no doubt in my mind that this is the moment to pressure the Chinese because they are so concerned about how they will be perceived going into the Olympics, and I don't think that the president should have given away attendance at the Opening Ceremonies, and in fact I think he should now say that that's not a good idea."



The question of whether the Olympics are more than a sporting event has been the subject of much debate in the last few weeks, as China has received a great deal of criticism from Western nations for its human rights record and its policies toward Tibet and Sudan.

Clinton's comment that the Olympics "is a much broader movement that goes beyond governments" would seem to suggest that she believes this is about more than sports, and that's consistent with her call for President Bush to boycott the Opening Ceremonies, but not for the athletes to boycott the sporting events. In fact, I'm not aware of any major American politician who wants Team USA to simply stay home.

But I can't help but think that a better way of handling the situation would be for the athletes to use the Opening Ceremonies to display American-style freedom of speech. Why not allow athletes who so choose to hold up signs reading "Darfur" or "Free Tibet" while they march through the procession? Isn't showing up and speaking out better than staying silent?