GW Bush in Beijing...and Watching the Olympics in France

GEORGE BUSH BECAME the first US President to attend an Olympic Games Opening Ceremony on foreign soil when he attended the opening of the Beijing Games on Friday. By Saturday he was on to other things:

This photo is so in need of a good caption. Got one? Let us know.

While on the topic of the Olympics, I must admit that it's a little disappointing not watching the games on NBC, and not just because I have a bit of a man-cruch on Matt Lauer. There is something very patriotic about watching the Games on a network that focuses on your own country. This is the second Olympics in which I have been out of the country, but the first in which the USA was involved (yes, bright readers, the other Games were 1980 -- when the US boycotted the Moscow Games). But I must admit that the coverage on BBC and France 2 and France 3 has been pretty comprehensive so far, with a fair amount of coverage of all sports and all countries. There is intense coverage of the swimming events, with Michael Phelps the huge story (by the way, was that about as good a 4x100 relay as you will ever see?) and I have seen live coverage of both the US men's and women's basketball teams. Gymnastics will be covered in depth beginning Tuesday and that's always fun once every four years. Of course, I've also seen a lot of live fencing and more rowing that I need, but that's OK.

One key difference I've noticed between US coverage and the coverage I'm getting here is that neither the BBC or French TV package the Games into a tight prime-time program like NBC does in the States. We aren't able to find much Olympic coverage after about 5:00pm local time (11:00pm in China) because the general feeling seems to be that if you don't see the events live then you're stuck with getting the results from short highlights on the news programs. BBC has a nice highlights package that is available 24/7, but no prime-time programming. A subtle difference to be sure; but something that takes some getting used to.

Late Update: our friend Monique (see her here) has the answer as to what GWB is doing in the above photo. And she should know -- she used to work with the girls in the photo. Read the comments! Thanks Monique!

CJS