On Question of Olympics Opening Ceremony, Candidates on the Same Page

CHICAGO – All three candidates trying to replace President Bush now generally agree on something: unless China significantly changes its behavior, the U.S. president should not attend the opening ceremonies of the Olympics in Beijing this summer.

In an interview with Tribune-owned WGN and CLTV television stations, Sen. Barack Obama said Thursday that it would be an "appropriate step" for the president to skip the opening ceremonies in protest to China’s policies.

"The Olympics always has been a place where people register their concerns," he said. "China clearly has not upheld the kinds of human rights that we would expect from such a major actor on the world stage."

Between campaign stops in northwest Indiana, Obama said having the president bypass the games would be a way for the nation to "register our disappointment with what’s happening in Tibet and China’s lack of vigorous action on Sudan."

Sen. John McCain, meanwhile, sought to suggest that Bush should take a harder line against the Chinese government and its oppressive treatment of Tibet.

In a statement, the presumptive Republican nominee said he respects British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s decision not to attend the opening ceremonies.

"President Bush should evaluate his participation in the ceremonies surrounding the Olympics and, based on Chinese actions, decide whether it is appropriate to attend," McCain said. "If Chinese policies and practices do not change, I would not attend the opening ceremonies."

Like McCain, Obama left some wiggle room. "If China is able over the next several months to take concrete steps to address some of these issues, obviously, then a president could reconsider," the Illinois senator said.

Sen. Hillary Clinton, Obama’s Democratic rival, has also called on Bush to not attend the opening ceremonies.

Obama’s position puts him at odds with one of his top political backers, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, who said this week that he opposes any boycott of this summer’s games because of politics. The mayor, with Obama’s backing, is trying to bring the 2016 games to Chicago.

Obama’s statement on the Olympics came as he campaigned in advance of the May 6 Indiana primary.

For more than a year, Obama has told America about the neighborhoods around the shuttered steel mills where he first worked in politics as a community organizer.

Those same depressed economic realities surrounded him as he campaigned in Gary, less than 20 miles from the far South Side Chicago neighborhoods where he learned his first big city political lessons.

Having now visited 46 states as part of his presidential bid, it was a rarity for him to campaign so vigorously in his own back yard.

"This is the closest I’ve been to home in five days," he told a heavily African American audience at a Gary high school. "I was thinking about making a break for it."

Showing off his local acumen, Obama mentioned the South Shore Line train that could have him home in less than an hour. "But we’ve got some work to do right here," he said.

Indeed, he does. If Obama is to win the Indiana primary, he will likely have to run up the score in the corner of the state closest to his home.

The part of northwest Indiana covered by the Chicago media market is expected to represent about a fifth of the state’s Democratic vote. Obama is only running radio and cable ads in the market, instead of the more costly broadcast ads he is running elsewhere in Indiana.

In the WGN/CLTV interview, Obama also reacted to praise directed toward him Thursday by Colin Powell.

"I actually haven’t talked to Gen. Powell in several months, but he is a friend and somebody who I respect deeply," he said. "He’s somebody whose counsel I value and I’m grateful for his recognition that we can have differences of opinion, or be part of different political parties, but that we can still acknowledge the service we are rendering to the country."

Several of those at the Obama rally in Gary said they are very familiar with Obama’s background and campaign because they have seen so much coverage of him in the Chicago media.

"I have a back problem, but I stood in line for three hours to get a ticket," said Evelyn Chisholm, a retired manufacturing worker who attended with her daughter.

Chisholm and her husband spend hours each day following the campaign on television. "My father says he can run for president after this because he knows so much about it," said Gloria Chisholm, who lives in Crown Point, Ind.

As Obama worked the state’s northwest corner, Clinton sent her top surrogate, former President Bill Clinton, to campaign in southern Indiana, while retired four-star Gen. Wesley Clark stumped for her in the state as well.