Business as usual for Bush

Bush meets in secrecy with the Dalai Lama hours before leaving on a trip during which he will meet with China's President Hu Jintao. The president gave no advance notice of the meeting, the press was not invited to take photos nor did Bush make a statement about the meeting or Tibet's plight afterwards.

I'm sure His Holiness met in good faith but the tete-a-tete was obviously meant to generate a White House photo and press release to be seeded in the foreign press prior to the tour - to give the appearance of concern over human rights.

In truth, the subject is unlikely to come up in Beijing although China is legendary for its abuses . As Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.) put it, the driving force behind the White House policy with China is: Business, business, business, business, business, business."