Bush bids his Washington troubles adieu…

If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen!

Therefore, it was fortuitous for President Bush that he was scheduled to leave Washington yesterday to attend the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in South Korea, as part of an 8-day diplomatic tour of Asia. But unlike his predecessor Bill Clinton – who ran from the political heat he got for his affair with Monica Lewinsky into the forgiving and redeeming arms of Nelson Mandela – it is doubtful that Bush will find such refuge in the embrace of any of his Asian hosts.

After all, despite his domestic woes, Clinton was always adored abroad. By contrast, however, it seems Bush is as disliked and disrespected abroad as he is at home: where recent polls rated him as the most unpopular president in U.S. history (due in part to the growing disillusionment of many Americans with his administration – stemming from the bloody quagmire in Iraq and the upsetting suspicion that Bush misled them about his reasons for targeting Saddam.)

Moreover, even though this is a timely trip to escape political heat in Washington, it is most untimely for Bush to be risking what little remains of his international gravitas at this APEC summit. Because his gospel about the values of democracy and free trade is bound to fall on more deaf ears – given his spectacular failure to impress leaders in his own backyard with these values at the recent Summit of the Americas in Argentina.

Nevertheless, the highlight of Bush’s tour of Asia will be his bi-polar summit with Chinese President Hu Jintao. However, no one expects anything Bush says during this meeting to amount to much more than sound and fury signifying nothing. Because China’s economic power has become so great that the Americans and Chinese both understand that China is now completely immune to political or even military pressure from the United States.

In fact, China’s rise to superpower status has effectively muted all western talk about human rights abuses within China. And it shall signal a shameful retreat (reversal in fact) for U.S. presidents, when Bush pleads (as expected) for greater access to Chinese markets for American corporations to exploit Chinese workers; instead of lecturing President Hu about the human rights of the poor and oppressed labourers who fuel China’s booming economy.

Note: One potentially constructive item on Bush’s agenda will be his discussions with Hu about emergency measures to deal with the looming pandemic of bird flu; especially in light of the recent outbreak in the Hubei province of China.

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