Richard Gere is going to blow a gasket:

In an attempt to gain favor with China, the United States pressured Tibetan representatives to postpone a meeting between the Dalai Lama and President Obama until after Obama's summit with his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao, scheduled for next month, according to diplomats, government officials and other sources familiar with the talks.

For the first time since 1991, the Tibetan spiritual leader will visit Washington this week and not meet with the president. Since 1991, he has been here 10 times.

This is not just Obama reflexively "breaking from Bush." It's a break from the policy of the last three administrations. As the Washington Post reports, the snub is part of Obama's new doctrine of "strategic reassurance" with China:

The U.S. decision to postpone the meeting appears to be part of a strategy to improve ties with China that also includes soft-pedaling criticism of China's human rights and financial policies as well as backing efforts to elevate China's position in international institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund. Obama administration officials have termed the new policy "strategic reassurance," which entails the U.S. government taking steps to convince China that it is not out to contain the emerging Asian power.

Possible motives for the move: 1) China holds so much of our debt now we can't afford to express even the tiniest symbolic criticism of our new international loan sharks, 2) President Obama is trying to curry favor with the Chinese in exchange for bringing them on board with sanctions against Iran, 3) the President is exhibiting yet another example of what critics say is his penchant for naivete, believing that America will get something in return for stiffing the Dalai Lama and going silent on Chinese human rights abuses in a preemptive "goodwill" effort, or, 4) a combination of 1, 2, and 3.