No White House Greeting for the Dalai Lama

By Michelle Boorstein
Washingtonpost.com


When the Dalai Lama visits Washington next week, it will be the first time since 1991 that he hasn't been greeted by the sitting American president. Needless to say, his advocates are trying to put a positive face on this.
The Tibetan Buddhist leader, who has been in the country since Sept. 23, will be in D.C. from Monday through Saturday, visiting with members of Congress, giving a large "teaching" at American University (the subject: the power of the human mind) and meeting with Chinese people who have spoken out in defense of democracy in Tibet.
But he won't be meeting President Obama, who opted to wait until after a U.S.-China summit next month. The highest level American official he'll see this trip is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, which is a stark contrast to his visit two years ago, when he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal - Congress' highest civilian honor - and met with President Bush at the Capitol, thrilling thousands of Buddhists and non-Buddhists who celebrated on the lawn outside.