Clinton opines on Olympics, Colombia trade deal

Hillary Clinton has plenty of advice today for President Bush:

She wants him to skip the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics to protest China's actions in Tibet and Sudan. And she wants him to back off on pushing a trade deal with Colombia.

The latter, of course, led to the resignation of her senior presidential campaign strategist, Mark Penn, who in his other job as private lobbyist, met with Colombian officials on the pact. They later fired Penn as well after he apologized for promoting a policy Clinton opposed.

After Bush announced today he is submitting paperwork to force Congress to vote on the deal within 90 days, Clinton urged the Senate to say no.

"I oppose signing any trade deal with Colombia while violence against trade unionists continues and the perpetrators are not brought to justice," she said in a statement. "The United States should be pursuing trade agreements that promote human rights and worker rights, not overlook egregious abuses."

The New York senator added her voice to those urging Bush to be a no-show at the opening ceremonies unless the Chinese government makes major changes in policy.

"The violent clashes in Tibet and the failure of the Chinese government to use its full leverage with Sudan to stop the genocide in Darfur are opportunities for presidential leadership," she said in a statement.