BEIJING -- The strains of the "Star-Spangled Banner" rang out over the Water Cube. President Bush, in the stands, waved his own American flag as the big one went up over the pool. And then, just as the song was getting to the part about the land of the free - the song stopped.
Atop the podium, Michael Phelps laughed.
It was the only glitch in a picture-perfect Sunday morning.
Easy visual, the commander-in-chief of the American armed forces waving an American flag, just like a good cheer leader. I wonder if former Russian President Putin will wave a Russian flag when the Russians win their first gold medal? Or if Chinese President HU Jintao will wave a Chinese flag when the Chinese win their first gold medal? Or if President Bush will wave the flag for all U.S. gold medals won?
The Chinese appreciate subtle irony. Perhaps this was NOT a glitch but a deeply profound and ironic political statement. And, if it was "just a glitch," who is to say that some great universal force was not making a deeply profound and ironic political statement?
