Bush turns attention from politics to Olympics

updated 10:54 p.m. ET Aug. 7, 2008

BEIJING - President Bush blended political messages for China and Russia with high fives and hugs for American athletes Friday as the first U.S. president to attend an Olympics abroad.

Before settling in for the opening hoopla of fireworks and acrobats, Bush took another swipe at China's human rights record and spoke with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin about fighting in the breakaway Georgian province of South Ossetia.

Russia sent tanks in after Georgian troops launched a military offensive Friday to retake control of South Ossetia. Bush and Putin discussed the situation at a luncheon for world leaders hosted by Chinese President Hu Jintao, said Gordon Johndroe, a Bush spokesman, without giving details.

The U.S. is urging "restraint on all sides" and calling for direct talks to curtail the violence, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.

Earlier in the day, Bush used the dedication of the new U.S. Embassy to prod China to lessen repression and "let people say what they think," repeating the sort of message that was rebuffed by the Chinese government even before he arrived in Beijing.

The president later turned his attention back to his primary reason for coming — the games.

"It's gotta be really exciting, thinking about marching in that stadium and representing our country," Bush told cheering U.S. athletes gathered in the Olympic fencing center before the Opening Ceremony.

"We appreciate all the hard work you've put in to get to this spot," said Bush, accompanied by wife Laura and his father, former President George H.W. Bush, the U.S. team's honorary captain.

"We want you to win as many golds as you possibly can. Go forth, give it all you got!"

The president then posed for photos with the athletes, dressed in blue blazers, white slacks and white caps.

As the nearly 600-strong U.S. team — second in size only to China's — paraded into National Stadium, Bush and the first lady stood and waved tiny U.S. flags.

The U.S. athletes followed Syria onto the track, where they walked over pads doused in paint, leaving multicolored streaks of footprints. They enthusiastically waved at the Bushes, and took photos and video to capture the moment.

Nearby, Putin, who doffed his suit jacket on a warm, muggy night, had lauded his nation's athletes shortly before.

Slide show   Emotional moments Scenes from the first full day of Olympic competition. more photos

Communist China, which tolerates only government-approved religions, rounded up dissidents ahead of the Olympics and imposed Internet restrictions on journalists that some say amount to censorship, all contrary to Beijing's commitments when it won hosting rights for the games. Such actions injected some tension into Bush's visit.

"We strongly believe societies which allow the free expression of ideas tend to be the most prosperous and the most peaceful," Bush said at the vast American diplomatic complex, built at a cost of $434 million.

The past week has seen blunt language from both sides — with China clearly unhappy that its record of repression was being repeatedly aired even as it was seeking to revel in its long-anticipated debut on the world's biggest sporting stage. But U.S. officials dismissed any suggestion of a widening rift.

"We've had these back-and-forths with China for years," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.

Beijing responded Thursday to criticism in a Bush speech by defending its human rights record and saying he shouldn't be meddling in China's internal affairs.

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