Driving home I was listening to This Week and, as usual, spent much of the time arguing with the people on it. Normally I don’t share because, well, the day has not yet been invented which has enough hours for that. This time though, George Stephanopoulos (oh how I miss Sam Donaldson’s gusto in pronouncing that name) questioned our National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley about Bush’s possible attendance at the Olympic Opening Ceremonies, which leaders from several countries will be boycotting. Six times during the interview Hadley referred to the controversy surrounding “Nepal”. Once, I’d laugh it off. I’d even let it go twice, heck, I’d be generous and let three demonstrations of utterly embarrassing ignorance from one of the top members of the State Department slide. Six times though without once recognizing that you mean Tibet? That’s enough to make me boil over.
He was not corrected any of those times of course (though in the write up online, “sic” was at least inserted following each mention). He also did a masterful job of not answering the direct question of whether or not Bush would attend the ceremonies, implying though that he would.
And since I’m on it anyway, Jimmy Carter, questioned about the comparison with our boycott of the 1980 Olympics said the situation was not the same at all. Back then it was because a country’s military had just started to invade a sovereign nation. The difference being apparently that the sovereign nation of Tibet was completely invaded by another country’s military over 50 years ago. Who cares about something that happened that far in the past?