I think that this story is an interesting opportunity for us to look at our attachments. While I think it more than a little awkward that for the first time since 1991, our head of state won’t meet with the DL so as not, presumably, to upset the Chinese, I can understand it in terms of the big picture. Plus it puts me in touch with my attachments. Then again the DL has put me in touch with my attachments before.
Tricycle’s Philip Ryan has a good post on this:
This has surprised many, but Clinton never officially received the Dalai Lama in Washington either. His Holiness had to wait until the George W. Bush era to get an official reception. About Dubya, the Dalai Lama famously said just last year, “I love President Bush, because he is very frank, very straightforward. His intentions are good, but some of his policy in spite of his sincere motivation and right goal, and some of his method becomes unrealistic because of lack of understanding about reality.”
Interesting choice of words there, no?
Of course, maybe it’s just that Obama doesn’t want to upset our banker.
