Sarah Palin's Speech In Hong Kong

The Round-up:

- WSJ - Palin Speaks Out In Asia

- NYT - Palin Speaks To Investors In Hong Kong

- Bloomberg - Palin Attacks Fed On Hong Kong Visit, Wants 'Responsible China'

- Breitbart - Palin Slams Obama's Spending In Debut Speech In Asia

Mary Kissel in yesterday's WSJ Political Diary on the event:

Former GOP Veep candidate Sarah Palin made her first speech abroad at one of Asia's largest annual investment conferences in Hong Kong today. The event was carefully hyped and stage-managed by the hosts, French-owned brokerage house CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets, with no press allowed into the venue. Even conference participants had to be "on the list" and show ID to get into the speech. (Local media were so keen to get the story that they staked out the Grand Hyatt hotel, frantically calling anyone in town with Republican Party connections.)

Nonetheless, in good Hong Kong-style, someone managed to sneak a recording device into the room and the transcript leaked.

The 80-minute talk was a broad affair, touching on everything from Alaska and trade protectionism to U.S. relations with China. The former governor took a realist's view of the authoritarian regime, calling for cautious engagement. "We can, must, should work with a 'rising China' to address issues of mutual concern," she said. "But we also need to work with our allies in addressing the uncertainties created by China's rise."

Unlike the Obama Administration, which has pandered to China's unelected leaders, downplayed human rights and snubbed the Dalai Lama, she spoke out strongly in support of China's democrats. Mrs. Palin also took a swipe at the Obama White House's trade policies, noting: "We want an Asia open to our goods and services." She labeled the White House-approved tariffs against Chinese-made tires "a mistake" and called on Congress to get the South Korea free trade agreement passed.

CLSA was thrilled by the speech, which brought the brokerage more press in a day than it's received in a year. In the French spirit of egalite, the closing night's entertainment will be left-wing icon Sheryl Crow.

Yes, I still like Sarah Palin.

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Bret Stephens: 'Beggar Thy Neighbor, Bankrupt Thy Country, Appease Thy Foe...Pretty Much Sums Up President Obama's Global Agenda'

Foreign policy 'change you can believe in':

In 1943, Walter Lippmann observed that the disarmament movement had been "tragically successful in disarming the nations that believed in disarmament." That ought to have been the final word on the subject.

So what should Mr. Obama, who this week becomes the first American president to chair a session of the U.N. Security Council, choose to make the centerpiece of the Council's agenda? What else but nonproliferation and disarmament. And lest anyone suspect that this has something to do with North Korea and Iran, U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice insists otherwise: The meeting, she says, "will focus on nuclear nonproliferation and nuclear disarmament broadly, and not on any particular countries."

But the problem with this euphemistic approach to disarmament, as Lippmann noticed, is that it shifts the onus from the countries that can't be trusted with nuclear weapons to those that can. Is Nicolas Sarkozy, with his force de frappe, about to start World War III? Probably not, though he has the means to do so. Should Mr. Obama join hands with Iran and the Arab world in pushing for Israel's nuclear disarmament, on the view that if only the Jewish state would set the right example its enemies would no longer want to wipe it off the map? If that's what the president believes, he should say so publicly, especially since he's offering the same general prescription for America's nuclear deterrent.

Of course what the administration wants is to set the right mood music for its upcoming talks with Iran. Mr. Obama would be better served having a chat with Moammar Gadhafi, who will be seated just a few chairs away at the Security Council: The mood music for his disarmament was set by the 4th Infantry Division when it yanked Saddam Hussein from his spider hole in December 2003. Col. Gadhafi gave up his WMD a week later.

Then again, it's not as if the administration doesn't know how to play hardball when it has a real villain in its sights. Like Chinese tire makers, for instance, who last week were slapped with a 35% tariff because Mr. Obama owed political favors to his friends in Big Labor. Quite something for a president who last year sounded off on the dangers of "trade policy [being] dictated by special interests."

In an op-ed in this newspaper, Brookings Institution economist Chad Bown noted that "the count of newly imposed protectionist policies like antidumping duties and other 'safeguard' measures increased by 31% in the first half of 2009 relative to the same period one year ago."

[...]

Meanwhile, Mr. Obama is earning kudos from the Russian government for his decision to pull missile defense from central Europe, even as Poland marked the 70th anniversary of its invasion by the Soviet Union. Moscow is still offering no concessions on sanctioning Iran in the event negotiations fail, but might graciously agree to an arms-control deal that cements its four-to-one advantages in tactical nuclear weapons.

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Thank You, President Bush (UPDATED)

Thank you, President Bush, for keeping us safe.

On 11 September 2001, I watched the news reports and listened to every last pundit say that terrorist attacks were the new reality. The question was not if, but when. Thank you, President Bush, for outlining and executing 7.5 years of policy that have protected America from further terrorist attack.

I think 70% of Americans (those who disapproved of President Bush in the last poll) are wrong. I think that future, fair-minded historians will re-evaluate Bush 43 and find a good and successful presidency.

His was a presidency marked, not by political expedience, as was that of his predecessor, but by one question: What's best for the country? President Bush is a good, honest, kind man. I believe he was right about Iraq. Iraq was the great test of his presidency.

He could have cut and run as the entire Democrat left and some on the right advocated, but he did not. And in so doing, by staying and fighting and finding a way, he spared untold millions of lives and through the instrumentality of an unparalleled fighting force, created a stable, peaceful, democratic friend and ally in the Middle East.

President Bush supported many good causes. He was a friend to Israel and a friend to the oppressed in Cuba & China and anywhere that felt the boot of tyranny. He brought attention and care to Africa--more than any President or any leader of any nation before him. Africa loves George W. Bush. On the life issues--stem cells and abortion--he was a right good defender of the defenseless.

I am overwhelmingly grateful to President Bush and proud to have had him as my President.

21 January 1:26pm BST:


Found at Little Green Footballs, add your thanks to President Bush to this long list. I was #11,737.

Given that his #1 responsibility was to keep us safe, I'd say, hell yeah, Mission Accomplished.


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Bob Costas Interviews President Bush

We don't care what anyone says, it'll be a sad day when George W. Bush is no longer President of the United States. He's so like-able and trustworthy. And such a good guy. Think you won't miss him? Ask Britons how they feel about Gordon Brown and if they miss Tony Blair. We suspect the same thing will happen in the U.S. if Barack Obama is elected.

While watching the Olympics tonight, we caught Bob Costas' interview with President Bush. Their interview was wide ranging but we were particularly impressed with the discussion of China and it's human rights/liberty issues.

Transcript here

Costas noted that China remains an authoritarian state despite what you maybe believe as a result of all the positive press surrounding the Olympics. Good on Costas for pointing this out when everyone else seems to forget.

President Bush, a man whose religious sincerity has sometimes been questioned by the haters, pointed out that increased religious liberty is a positive and important step in creating a more free and open society. As he said, 'once religion takes hold, it doesn't leave.'

Religious liberty is often overlooked in broader discussions of human rights. President Bush has made it a priority to push for religious freedom in all his interactions with oppressive regimes. This is something for which he should be given more credit.

It may be that as China continues market liberalization, while resisting the broader freedoms that normally come as a result, that religious liberty will be the catalyst to bringing about deeper democratic reform.

As President Bush noted, it's important for America to stay engaged with China--on every level--and continue to encourage reform at every opportunity.

We already included these links as part of the "Editors' Picks" over at Newsbusters.org, but we don't want anyone to miss out on reading them. W/o further ado, Jay Nordlinger's series on China & the Olympics:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5


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