Bush + Jiang

OK, liberals, let your guard down and admit that Bush got it right this time. He was conciliatory with the Chinese, affirming American support for "peaceful resolution" of the Taiwan issue, not saying "we support Taiwanese independence." And a positive externality of the "axis of evil" statement combined with this visit may be that China feels a little better about Bush, since he didn't list the Middle Kingdom on his hit list. I think Bush has a much clearer mandate for cooperating with the CCP than Clinton did. Whereas Clinton was receiving money from them and was only positive towards them, Bush can approach them from a position of metered national interest, and make sensible deals that are truly representative of the cordial but distant relationship currently existing between the U.S.A. and the PRC.

On a side note, what specifically impressed me was Bush's asking Jiang to go to Kim Jong Il for him. That's a very diplomatic move, since it implicitly recognizes Chinese regional hegemony, and is a non-threatening way to approach the DPR Korea since it's not a purely Western move, and is at the same time a stronger approach, since China is backing the U.S. request for negotiations.

Bush may not be a diplomat, but a man who knows his limits and surrounds himself with experts is the wiser man in the eyes of the wisest ruler (Solomon).