Sen. Clinton today called for a presidential boycott of the Olympic opening ceremonies in Beijing:
"The violent clashes in Tibet and the failure of the Chinese government to use its full leverage with Sudan to stop the genocide in Darfur are opportunities for Presidential leadership. These events underscore why I believe the Bush administration has been wrong to downplay human rights in its policy towards China. At this time, and in light of recent events, I believe President Bush should not plan on attending the opening ceremonies in Beijing, absent major changes by the Chinese government."
This is as mild a sanction as you can think of -- it's not a boycott of the Olympics themselves, or even a team boycott of the ceremonies. Still, two weeks ago, on March 25, Hillary was asked about the Olympics and said: “Let’s wait on that; I don’t have an opinion on that.” (See video below at 6 minute mark.)
So, what's changed? Well, today it moves attention away from Mark Penn, the Colombian trade deal and the Clintons' taxes.... And an opening-ceremony boycott is also something Nancy Pelosi, influential with superdelegates, supports.....