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On Monday, United States Olympic Committee Chairman Peter Ueberroth said:

"The world will learn a great deal about San Francisco during the next two days ..." (source)


And the world has.  We've learned that San Francisco values the freedom of expression of its residents so little that it will deceive them in order to placate a foreign power.

The Olympics may not be about politics, but at this point it's disingenuous to claim that the torch isn't.

Thousands lined up on Wednesday along the published route of the Olympic torch to celebrate the unifying spirit of the Olympic games and China's extraordinary presence on the world stage, or to protest the policies of a repressive regime and their own government's unwillingness to take a strong stand for freedom.  But they never saw the torch -- the icon of Olympic politics that drew them out.

Instead, Mayor Gavin Newsom and San Francisco's police changed the route of the torch without notice as the relay started.  The torch was escorted through streets filled mostly with the phalanx of police guarding it, whisked around from site to site by bus, and returned quickly to the airport for a perfunctory closing "ceremony".

San Francisco has shown that it values image more than truth.  In retrospect, Beijing could not have chosen a better city for the torch's only North American stop.

Confusion strikes US torch relay

Olympic torch dodges S.F. protesters

Torch leaves San Francisco after surprise route designed to thwart protesters

Torch entries on SFist

photo by Scott Beale / Laughing Squid