Spin Cycle

Sen. Clinton earlier this week called on Bush to boycott the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics to protest Chinese behavior in Tibet, Darfur. Obama demurred, saying he wasn't ready to call for a boycott yet.

Now, she seizes on news that British PM Brown is boycotting to hit the issue again:

“I wanted to commend Prime Minister Gordon Brown for agreeing not to go to the opening ceremonies of the Olympics in Beijing. That was an important decision by Prime Minister Brown and I am calling on Senators McCain and Obama to join me in my request that President Bush also not attend the opening ceremonies.”

With not-so-many substantive differences between Hillary and Obama, one suspects that this will provide fresh material for a debate question in Philadelphia. And it's probably never bad politics to seem like you're being tough on the Chinese -- they're ruled by Communist dictators, and there are a lot of them.

But is this good diplomacy?

Don't you normally, like, threaten a boycott first, to try to get them to change their behavior, in a way that could actually help people in Tibet or Darfur?

Of course, if it's just politics, you don't care about people in Tibet or Darfur. You just want to make a point.

Update: Obama issues a statement, edgier than his first, but still not ready to take the Hillary leap: "If the Chinese do not take steps to help stop the genocide in Darfur and to respect the dignity, security, and human rights of the Tibetan people, then the President should boycott the opening ceremonies....Regarding the Beijing Olympics this summer, a boycott of the opening ceremonies should be firmly on the table, but this decision should be made closer to the Games"

Full text after the jump.