My wife went to one of the swimming finals in the Water Cube this morning. She called me halfway through to say: “Guess who is sitting behind me – George W. Bush and his wife and daughter!” I assumed that meant she was sitting six rows in front of them and there were five rows of secret service men between them, but when I got back from work in the evening, she showed me a photo she had taken over her shoulder – and she really was in the row right in front of them. I was amazed that the President’s security people (who seemed to be nowhere in sight) would have let other spectators that close waving cameras in his face. Maybe they feel more relaxed in China knowing that there is already a big security presence in Beijing.


After studying the photograph for a few moments, I said: “But did you notice who was sitting behind George Bush?” She hadn’t. She was too busy trying to take a snapshot of Bush to notice Bill Gates right behind him.