Clemons's prose is clichéd. "Good morning from refreshingly sunny Beijing where the skies are robin egg blue," began his first report. Biden did not just greet his Chinese counterpart, Clemons said. Biden "warmly greeted" him. After an exchange of pleasantries, "your pool was then escorted out to brisk air, sunny skies, and a momentary look at the gardens and other pavilions of the exclusive Zhongnanhao Compound." I hope your pool made the moment count, since he got closer to the center of Chinese authoritarian decision-making than most Chinese ever will. Dan Balz can rest easy: Clemons is not coming for his job anytime soon. Biden Deputy Chief of Staff Shailagh Murray, on the other hand, who used to be a "journalist" herself—well, Shailagh, you better watch out.
"An awkward thing happened in which your pool inadvertently became part of the story," Clemons reported. The awkward thing was this: The vice president, in conversation with Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao, began gesturing at Clemons and saying, "He is a very important man. Seriously he is important."
"Your pool demurred as best he could"—I'm sure he did—but Biden continued, telling Li that he should bypass the diplomatic niceties and talk directly with Clemons. "He is the one you really want to speak to. Seriously." Later Biden bought Clemons a Magnum ice cream bar. But do not assume that the gift of delicious ice cream from a powerful admirer would affect our correspondent's reportage. "Your pool decided to find out how much the Magnum bar cost and return that amount of yuan to Vice President Biden." And the First Amendment endured.
