Falun gone

With all the surrealism in New York (inclusing, but not limited to, the convention), there are some nuggets of actual meaning and message. Matthew Yglesias finds one, a protest by members of the Falun Gong, calling attention to the human-rights crisis in China.

Jimmy Carter deserves credit for being the first President to tie human rights to foreign policy. And Gary Hart deserves credit for extending that concept into a coherent foreign policy vision in his book, The Fourth Power. If a Presidential candidate came along with a true commitment to these principles, they'd have my vote, regardless of Party. Still, given that the Democrats are the only ones who are articulating this kind of view, there's more likelihood of this kind of policy being implemented under a Democratic administration.