The subhead to Bernstein's piece claims, "The United States can't afford to snub the 2010 World Expo."

That doesn't mean it won't. The US has mastered the ability to do things it can't. Unfortunately, only some of those are great things, things in the overcoming-obstacles arena. Most are things in the really-really-really-shouldn't­-do section. And when it comes to Asia in general and China, these days, in particular, the US government-- and especially State-- nearly always manages to get it wrong. For those of us on the ground during some of the more recent boo botches, the spy plane collision and the bombing of the Chinese Embassy by "smart bombs" to name two that come easily to mind, watching the US response was like watching a Road Runner cartoon in slow motion. We knew what the the pool of correct responses held in the way of options, and we watched, in both those instances, the slo-mo train wrecks that followed as the government deftly avoided them all and chose from the folder labeled "Bad Choices!"

Even now, verbiage from the top-- from Bush, from Rice, from Clinton and McCain, to name a few-- shows that those now at the helm as well as those who could take over next year Do Not Get It when the It is China. "Get tough with China," hello? Dialog from a fourth-grader written in the 50's is what that sounds like, and the days of being *able* to get tough with China are firmly in the past. Not only that, the shallowness of governmental understanding and awareness of the sensibilities of the Chinese people and the Chinese government-- different things but both important-- will lead to more and more, and greater and greater mistakes and screwups which in turn will not lead to strong ties and good relations with what is likely to become, in the not too distant future, the most powerful and the most important nation on earth.

Sure, go ahead and yammer about boycotting the Olympics, forgo the World's Fair, whine and niggle about pissant stuff that does not matter and that you have no. chance. of. changing. And then, when something important crops up, when you need them to help you, see how quickly they jump at the chance to return the favor. Oh, wait. You can't *return* a favor to someone who hasn't done a favor for you. Forgot that part.

Oops.

It's true that Americans in general are living in a reality distortion sphere where everyone in the world wants to live here and be American. Everyone would greet us with open arms and flowers. Perhaps some shock and awe of the people is in order.