A busy weekend at the DSBPI.

First, W is officially launching his reelection campaign Sunday with an address to the nation about how he is not his dad and how he is president and all those Dems are just little scarecrows running around smoking grassroot. DSBPI wonders that if things are going so well in Baghdad why Rummy had to show up there unanounced and wearing the most conspicuos bullet-proof vest since Christoper Lloyd in "Back to the Future." In any event, W has had great sucess with the Big Speech approach -- as opposed to the little press conference -- and this prime-timer should halt his plunging numbers for the week.

Second, a storm is brewing in the Middle East -- no really, it rained about 17 drops in Tel Aviv on Friday -- but back in Ramallah things are really blustery. With "Our Man in The Muqata" seemingly out for the count (not literally yet) and Sharon activating a decapatation strike on Hamas, the next week in the Holy Land will not be one marked by brotherly love. Abbas may have to run for his life back to Utah overnight before the mountaintop opens up and swallows him inside, ahem.

Third, GE's chief Imelt held a Q&A with some folks at Fidelity. Here is a snippet that underlines the DSBPIs feeling about China -- something you won't here from pols:

Q. What are the important areas of opportunity for GE today?

Immelt: Globalization is extremely important for GE. In order to grow the company today, you've got to be able to go to Europe, you have to be able to go to China, you have to be able to go to Japan, and sell products.
If you look around the world, winning in China, in particular, is extremely important for GE. China is going to spend $300 billion in infrastructure between now and the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Say that out loud, "$300 billion in infrastructure."
They're going to build road and rail systems. They're going to construct 25 new airports between now and 2008. Twenty-five. Compare that to the United States. There's been one new airport built in the United States in the past 25 years.
China is where aircraft engines are going to be sold. It's where medical equipment is going to be sold. It's where gas turbines are going to be sold. It's absolutely going to be staggering what ends up happening in China and how quickly it grows. We think by 2005, GE will have $5 billion in revenue of high tech products around the world.

NOTE: Immelt is not talking about outsourcing jobs to big scary China. He is talking about the opportunity of China as an importer of goods, not a low-cost exporter. This is the difference between China and Mexico. While Mexico was a low-cost producer (losing title now), it could never be a mass importer on the scale of a globalized China. While we need to have rules for fair trade, we need to realize that building another Great Wall around this trading partner would not bring good things to life.

Finally, the Anti-Prison Rape law passed congress this week. DSBPI wonders if this too was a Bush administration kowtow to the Enron and Sam Waskals of the world.