Thirty-one percent (31%) of American voters believe President Bush should boycott the opening ceremonies for the Olympic Games this summer in Beijing. A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 45% disagree while 25% are not sure.

Senator Hillary Clinton has called for President Bush to boycott the opening ceremonies as a symbolic protest over the Chinese government’s recent crackdown on Tibet and its response to the genocide in Darfur. Thirty-five percent (35%) of Democrats believe the President should boycott the event while 43% disagree. Just 24% of Republicans and 32% of unaffiliated voters say the President should skip the ceremonies.

Among all voters, there is even less enthusiasm for having American athletes boycott the games. Just 21% support such an action while 53% are opposed.

A Fox News video report suggests the Olympics may face a financial risk as sponsors grow concerned about the protests. Sixty-nine percent (69%) of voters say they are at least somewhat concerned about the human rights violations in Tibet. That figure includes 30% who are Very Concerned.

Clinton has also asked Senators Barack Obama and John McCain to join her in calling for a boycott. Clinton trails Obama nationally in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll.

Obama, on CBS television, said “I think that what’s happened in Tibet, China’s support of the Sudanese government in Darfur, is a real problem.” However, he added that he was “hesitant to make the Olympics a site of political protest because I think it’s partly about bringing the world together." Obama is in a potentially awkward spot as Chicago is competing to host the Olympic Games in 2016. In a statement, he said, "a boycott of the opening ceremonies should be firmly on the table, but this decision should be made closer to the Games."

McCain, on the Fox News Channel, said “All of us condemn the brutal repression that the Chinese inflicted upon Tibetans and protesters.” But, he added that the “President will evaluate this as it evolves and … ought to keep his options open.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has urged President Bush not to attend the opening ceremonies. The House passed a resolution criticizing China for its "disproportionate and extreme" response to recent protests. The measure passed, 413 to 1 (only Ron Paul was opposed). The Senate will vote on a similar resolution.

Just 21% of voters are Very Interested in the Summer Olympics. Another 39% say they are Somewhat Interested.

Eight percent (8%) say that China is an Ally of the United States while 18% say it is an enemy. Seventy percent (70%) place it somewhere in between.

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