Long way down

Does anyone else find it strange to hear that President Bush is warning China's leaders to ease the pressure on religious groups and political dissidents in advance of next summer's Olympics in Beijing? Sure, the Chinese government has an awful human rights record. Some of the crap it has pulled is unbelievable. But the Bush administration has nothing to be proud of. Doesn't Bush even realize that the American people are worried about the Executive Branch power grab under the USA Patriot Act, which has imperiled civil liberties under the Bill of Rights that are the moral underpinnings of our nation? Didn't the voters' repudiation of the Republican Party in the last election mean anything? Haven't enough officials bailed from the Bush government to give the president a clue? Does his elevator still stop at the upper floors?