Back before the specter arose again of China becoming a superpower, its opening ceremony for the 2008 Summer Olympics threatened little more than jingoism, funky dancers, freakishly wee gymnasts, and bizarre masks. Good times! Not the rally cry of empty defiance it's become for world leaders (Angela Merkel, Gordon Brown, Donald Tusk) who weren't going anyway. Boycotting a nation with a genocidal streak is hardly news. But a leader announcing he is attending, now that's a headline maker!
So far, the two politicos who've publicly flirted with attending the opening ceremonies are an unlikely pair: George W. Bush and Jimmy Carter.