Well, Beijing never got Malaysian Airlines 370, but they did get Michelle Obama (and her mom) as the First Lady arrived in China on behalf of "education, youth empowerment and people-to-people contact". At least that's how deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes is describing it.
http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/251146061.html
Make that sightseeing and shopping, Ben.
Actually, she was invited by the wife of the President of China. Would you have complained if Laura Bush had gotten such an invitation? It might be good politics (for the USA) not to pass this up.
ReplyDeleteI know, China is in many ways our rival, and not exactly a paragon of democracy. But come to think of it, neither are we. We're going to have to deal with them.
While the U.S. is admittedly not perfect we are, at least relatively/comparatively (and in my view absolutely) a step or two ahead of our nearest competitor(s) with regard to democracy,and thereby closer to paragonhood, no??
ReplyDeleteIt depends on who you ask elwood. I feel pretty comfortable. Some are not so fortunate. By and large, I think we manage to stumble our way in a half way decent direction. We do have an effective First Amendment. Whether everyone in China considers that their number one priority I'm not so sure. Remember when we were going to be "welcomed as liberators" in Iraq?
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