McCain and the Dalai Lama

On Friday in Aspen, Colorado, John McCain met up with the Dalai Lama.

Most of their conversation apparently revolved around the upcoming Olympic games and the opportunity to shine a spotlight on Chinese human rights, with a particular emphasis on Tibet I'm sure. The article doesn't really summarize this curious meeting in its entirety, and focuses more on how liberal Aspen protesters oppose John McCain. But the meeting was curious for many reasons- in Aspen of all places, the world Buddhist leader of extremely oppressed people meeting the presumptive Republican candidate for President, the fact it was a last minute meeting, and the fact that it has received little press attention compared to Obama's travails in Europe.

What's the redemptive angle here? I'm not sure if any overarching statement or theme can be culled from this news about Presidential campaign politics. But I will say this: John McCain is classicly known as a former POW who was tortured for months, and he just met with the leader of some of the world's most repressed (dare I say persecuted?) people. To some extent in geopolitics, a candidate's experience does matter.