Bush's Olympic Hurdle

George W. Bush the sports fan just wants to go to the Olympics and have a good time.

But being president of the United States means he needs to deal with a few other matters along the way. Like the fact that China considers the Beijing games an international celebration of its rise to major world power status -- on its own terms. And the fact that those terms include a distinct lack of concern for human rights and personal liberty.

So yesterday, Bush began an obligatory message-I-care show, in an attempt to stave off growing criticism that his passion for sports has blinded him to Chinese backsliding that makes a mockery of his so called "Freedom Agenda."

Dan Eggen writes in The Washington Post: "President Bush met privately with five Chinese activists at the White House on Tuesday . . . promising to 'carry the message of freedom' to the Summer Olympics in Beijing next week.

"Bush has repeatedly said he views the Beijing Games as being about athletics rather than politics, and he has resisted calls to boycott the opening ceremonies on Aug. 8. But last week, he referred to U.S. athletes as 'ambassadors of [liberty],' and he told the group of dissidents Tuesday that he will continue to press China's leadership for reforms even during the Olympics, White House officials said.

"'He told the activists that engagement with Chinese leaders gives him an opportunity to make the United States' position clear -- human rights and religious freedom should not be denied to anyone,' White House press secretary Dana Perino said in a statement. . . .

"Bush also dropped in on a meeting between China's foreign minister and national security adviser Stephen J. Hadley. Bush told Yang Jiechi that hosting the Olympics 'presents the Chinese with an opportunity to demonstrate compassion on human rights and freedom,' the statement said."

Sheryl Gay Stolberg writes in the New York Times that the private talk with dissidents was "part of an intensifying White House effort to put pressure on Beijing before Mr. Bush travels there in a little over a week for the summer Olympic Games. . . .

"In a report issued this week, Amnesty International accused China of breaking its promise to open up freedoms in exchange for permission from the International Olympic Committee to host the 2008 Games. A senior White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss delicate diplomatic matters, said Mr. Bush shared that concern. . . .

"Michael Green, an Asia expert and former adviser to Mr. Bush, said the White House must now contemplate how Mr. Bush should express his concerns while he is in Beijing. During a trip in 2005, the president attended a state-controlled church there and then held a press conference about it, a tactic that Mr. Green said got the attention of China's leaders.

"Mr. Green said Mr. Bush's meeting with the dissidents had been aimed at both addressing his critics and sending a pointed message to the Chinese."

But as Laurent Lozano reports for AFP: "The meeting was held at the White House residence instead of the Oval Office, out of sight of cameras and the White House only revealed the meeting in a statement after it was over."