There were two presidents in Los Angeles as the convention was getting underway. One, of course, was Bill Clinton. The other was Taiwan's Chen Shui-bian, who except for a brief wave to well-wishers, stuck to his hotel room Sunday night, trying hard not to be the skunk at Clinton's party.
Even so, Chen's overnight presence -- he was just catching some sleep on his way to Central America and Africa -- proved to be embarrassing for the White House. Sam Gejdenson, the ranking Democrat on the House International Relations Committee, had invited about a dozen congressmen to meet Taiwan's new president. When Chen ultimately declined the invitation, Gejdenson told the press that the heavy hand of the White House had "pressured [Chen] to refrain from meeting with Congress during his visit."
Chen, who took power earlier this year in the first peaceful and democratic change of governments in China's 5,000-year history, is obviously a major irritant to the thugs in Beijing. You would think he'd be less of an irritant to the world's oldest political party. But no. While the Democrats spent much of the week toasting their commitment to human rights, their party still couldn't find time to warm up to the new democracy in Taiwan. President Chen deserved better.