In an interview with Council on Foreign Relations, Mitt Romney, whose international reputation is anchored in his successful management of Utah's 2002 Winter Olympics, has some advice for the Chinese. This year's Olympic torch run became an embarrassing traveling anti-Chinese media festival, showcasing crowd control rather than peace and athleticism.

Mitt says teaching your people not to spit in public is fine, but China needs to take symbolic action about its human rights record:

In my view, these are not issues which they should push aside, but rather are issues they should concentrate on and show that they understand the sensitivity and the importance of these issues to the world and to the interests of humanity.

They should take some action—some symbolic action—that shows they are listening and they are trying to improve the relations in each of these settings.

This, for instance, would mean such things as deciding to not provide military equipment and armament to the Sudanese. That would be a very powerful statement. A decision to sit down with the Dalai Lama, or some other symbolic event, would signal to the world that they, as a government, are willing to listen to the concerns of the world, and at the same time recognize the interests of their local population.

What is telling about Olympic-savvy Mitt's suggestions are that he doesn't advise the Chinese to actually improve their rotten human rights record. He tells them to take "symbolic" action that gives the appearance that they give a rat's patooty about what the world thinks.

Mitt also discusses whether Olympic sponsors are concerned their brands will be tarnished by politicized Chinese games. (Yes, he says, McDonald's, Panasonic and the rest are very worried.)

Could the protests result in the withdraw of sponsorships? (No, because the deals are made many years in advance and the sponsors can't back out.)

Is the China mess final evidence that the Olympics have become too politicized to continue? ("I believe that the Olympic Games, ultimately, are about the young people who compete with one another. ... I believe that the games will be successful in future cities.")