New York (CBS)  -- THE DALAI LAMA AND THE BEIJING OLYMPICS

(Sam Litzinger in for Charles Osgood)

Some people are calling for a boycott of the Beijing Olympics because of China's policies in Tibet.  The Dalai Lama of Tibet isn't one of them.

Many Tibetans who want independence from China -- and many of their supporters -- see the Beijing Olympics as maybe their last, best chance to get the world's attention.

Chinese forces have occupied Tibet for more than half a century, and many people have had enough, so they're protesting around the world.  Some are calling for a boycott, which is what happened with the 1980 Games in Moscow.

Now you might think the Dalai Lama, the spiritual and political leader of the Tibetan people, would think this is a good idea.  He does not, and he's says he's sorry some of the protests have been violent.

"Everybody knows I fully support Olympic Game and I feel sad at the incidents in London, and Paris and San Francisco," said the Dalai Lama.

He says he's not an enemy of China.

"I think at even the government level create the impression that we are anti-Chinese and we are anti-Olympic Game.  Totally wrong," said the Dalai Lama.

The Dalai Lama is calling on everyone to calm down, which is what you might expect to hear from a person some consider a living Buddha.

But that same message is coming from National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, who says President Bush has heard the demands that he not go to the Games -- but a boycott would be a mistake.

"He has no reason not to go, because what he has said is we need to use diplomacy to try and deal with the issue," said Hadley.

He spoke on ABC's "This Week" program.  No matter what happens, it's a safe bet that a lot of people will still find some way to get their message across that human rights should be as important as Olympic medals.

DUELING DEMOCRATS OVERDUE FOR A VACATION?

(Sam Litzinger in for Charles Osgood)
 
Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are cranking up the volume in their latest war of words.  Maybe they need vacations.

OK, if you're a Barack Obama supporter, you don't get what all the fuss is about. If you're a Hillary Clinton supporter, you think Barack Obama just doesn't get it. If you're a John McCain supporter, well, you just smile.

By now, you've probably heard about Obama's comment from a few days ago. He said working-class voters -- like, oh, say those in Pennsylvania, which will be holding a key primary in a few days, were frustrated.  He said: "It's not surprising that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion."

Hillary Clinton's reaction?

"I do not believe, as Senator Obama apparently does, that Americans in small towns and small cities and rural areas cling to religion and gun ownership out of frustration," said Clinton.

Barack Obama's reaction to Hillary Clinton's reaction?

"There's been a little typical sort of political flare-up," said Obama.

What he says he was trying to say was that many working-class voters are frustrated with politics and policies, not that they're gun-clingers or religion-clingers.

"I didn't say it as well as I should have.  But what is absolutely true is that people don't feel like they're being listened to," said Obama.

Of course, Hillary Clinton has said some things she didn't say as well as she should have.

"I remember landing under sniper fire.  There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead," said Clinton.

See, this is what happens when people get on the campaign trail, and never get off!  Imagine if you were on the road 24 hours a day for, like, months, eating bad chicken dinners, holding screaming babies and asking people for money all the time.  I bet you'd say some weird things, too!

CHARLES OSGOOD, THIS ONE'S FOR YOU

(Sam Litzinger in for Charles Osgood)

"Where's Charlie?", you ask.  Well, he's busy collecting the Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of Broadcasters.  So, while he's away - let's talk about him!

There was a time, children -- and a long time ago it was -- when Charles Osgood was much like the rest of us who labor in radio newsrooms. We find out stuff and we tell you about it.

Announcer: This is Newsradio 88 WCBS-FM, New York.
Osgood: Parachuting disaster on Lake Erie, as many as five feared killed as a light plane hits the WCBS Radio tower.  And a wave of terrorism in Vietnam.  Good morning, this is Charles Osgood."

That was Charlie on WCBS in New York back in 1967.  But somewhere along the way, Charles Osgood realized he could do some things many of us radio folks try to do but which most of us rarely do brilliantly.

For example, he can write -- I mean, really write.  He writes broadcast copy so well that, frankly, it irritates many of us who wonder if we should find some other kind of work, perhaps involving dry cleaning or dentistry.

Charlie can also deliver the copy so it never sounds like he's delivering the copy. He's just telling a story.

"It was after she was diagnosed with MS, a progressive disease of the central nervous system that attacks the nerves in the brain and spinal cord that Wendy Booker decided to run in the Boston Marathon," said Charlie in last week's Osgood File.

He tells these interesting stories on radio and TV, but Charlie admits the pictures are better on radio because you create them.

Now, I don't know Charles Osgood personally.  He may be awful to live with because he has the world's messiest sock drawer or something.  But I do know he's a fine broadcaster, and, from what I've heard, a heckuva good person.  Which is maybe more important than being a fine broadcaster.

So, congrats, Charles, on the Distinguished Service Award.  Your service has been distinguished, indeed.  Alas, for the rest of us radio hacks.

"SURGE-LITE" IN IRAQ AS BUSH PRESIDENCY NEARS END

(Sam Litzinger in for Charles Osgood)

The Defense Secretary defends American policy in Iraq. It's sort of "surge lite" in Iraq.

President Bush says he's decided not to make major reductions in American troop strength in Iraq anytime soon. He says the troops are needed and so many of them will stay. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the expectation is that they'll act more as support for Iraqi forces.

"What we have is half of Iraq where the transition has already been made to a different kind of role or mission for U.S. forces," said Gates.

Speaking on the CBS News program "Face the Nation", Gates says the Iraqi government is trying to get a grip on the country, but it's a tough job -- partly because of insurgents in Iraq, and partly because of interference from one of Iraq's neighbors.

"The hand of Iran has been exposed in a way that perhaps had not been before to some of the Iraqi government -- and frankly, I think that's a very positive development," said Gates.

Gates says many Iraqis have begun to realize the Iranian government -- and the militants he says it supplies -- are not their friends.

"One of the things we're hearing is that some of the local Shia tribes and leaders in the Basra area are now beginning to think along the same lines as their Sunni counterparts in el-Anbar.  They're looking at Shia bad guys in their own neighborhoods and saying, 'We don't want these people here," said Gates.

President Bush says the goals remain a free Iraq that can protect its people, support itself economically, and take charge of its own political affairs -- goals critics say are a long way off.

One other thing about Iraq: it probably won't be Robert Gates' job to deal with in a few months. Whoever becomes the new President will probably want a new defense secretary.