Hu's in China? Who's on First? Hu's Insulted.

Hmmm, let's see: Lunch instead of a formal state dinner, literally manhandling the leader of the most populous nation on earth, calling his country "The Republic of China" (that, by the way, is the name of the "other China", the nation-state that exists only on the island of Taiwan and in the minds of unreconstructed Chiang Kaishek-y Chinese nationalists), the vice president donning sunglasses, and, for the final insult, allowing a notoriously disruptive member of the Chinese religious cult, the Falun Gong (who believe, among other things, that homosexuals are not quite human -- a belief system that is right in there with the Robertson-Falwell-Repug school of "thought"), to spew a stream of invective for a full three minutes before she was silenced.

Yep, that about covers it. See Dana Milbank's commentary of the not-quite state visit of Chinese president Hu to the US for details.

Jesus, why didn't Baby Doc just give him a hotfoot while he was at it? Nothing like pounding insult after insult onto your guest, who just happens to be the leader of a country that is not only the most populous on earth, but also America's biggest creditor nation. And all the while not displaying a single shred of regret, remorse or embarrassment.

We used to have a protocol officer in this country whose sole job it was to make sure that these kinds of embarrassing gaffes never happened to a visiting head of state. I suppose that office is now held by one of those Mayberry Machiavelli Bushco hangers-on who served a similar function down in Texas. Where protocol consists of making sure that your dinner guests have their pants zipped up, and that your host (i.e., Baby Doc) doesn't eat his peas with a knife...

And some people still wonder how the United States sank so low in the estimation of the rest of the world.