CRAWFORD, Texas — President Bush says the Summer Games in Beijing are about sports, not politics, but much of the rest of the world seems to think otherwise.
As torch-bearing runners dodge protesters and play hide-and-seek in cities around the world, Bush faces growing pressure, including from some conservatives, to bow out of the opening ceremonies in August to protest China’s crackdown on Tibet and other human rights abuses.
Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, said Thursday that Bush should consider boycotting the opening ceremonies “unless they change some things pretty quickly.” McCain’s two Democratic rivals, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois have made similar statements in recent days, with Clinton expressing a slightly more categorical opposition to Bush’s attendance.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is due to visit Bush in Washington next week, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have already said they will not be at the opening. But White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said that Bush will do more good by attending the Games and by keeping a good relationship with China’s leader.
Bush, who arrived here Thursday for a long weekend at the presidential ranch, has been noncommittal on attending the opening ceremony but previously showed little patience for a boycott.
“I’m going to the Olympics. I view the Olympics as a sporting event,” Bush said in February.
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