The Long Road to the Olympics

(above: banners hung from the Golden Gate Bridge preceding the torch's arrival in CA.)

According to this story from Yahoo! News, demonstrators have already begun to group together along the relay route in San Francisco that is the Olympic torch's only stop in North America. This latest protest comes soon after Hillary Clinton called on President Bush to not attend the opening ceremonies in Beijing and also as Massachusetts Democratic Congressman Michael Capuano urges for a resolution stating that Bush must boycott unless China makes efforts to end violence in Darfur.


Concerning this matter, I happen to think that Barack Obama gave a very appropriate response in a recent CBS interview. The following selection is taken from this article at CNN:



"On the one hand, I think that what's happened in Tibet; [and] China's support of the Sudanese government in Darfur, is a real problem." But, he added: "I'm hesitant to make the Olympics a site of political protest because I think it's partly about bringing the world together."



I think that Obama's statement was incredibly tactful. The next president is definitely going to have to deal with China and for a candidate to alienate them this early on as Clinton did might not be the best precedent for peaceful relations in the future.



As a side note: I realize that I keep flip-flopping with my political opinions concerning the two Democratic candidates, but I honestly can't help it. I like Obama, but then he makes cocky comments about not being at all interested in the vice presidency. So, then I start to favor Clinton and the whole Bosnia debacle occurs. I think it's fair to say that they are making it a pretty tough choice.



But, back to the issue at hand. The Olympics. I completely agree with Obama that the games are supposed to be "about bringing the world together." That's why, for once, I can relate to the decisions being made by President Bush and his hesitancy against any kind of boycotting. The problem in Darfur is a very serious issue, but I don't think boycotting the Olympics is going to truly get through to China. What it will do is break a long standing tradition that promotes a time of peace and agreement between the countries of the world.



If we want to get through to China, we must do something more substantial than not showing up for a series of sporting events. If we really mean business, I feel that there's so much more that could be done than having Bush stay at home for the opening ceremonies.

The below video captures some of the protesting in San Francisco: