“Hu’s on first?”
I heard Obama dropped to 5,000th place between Carrot Top and Scooby Doo.... 300 slots lower than Spongebob Squarepants.
Gady Epstein of Forbes’ Beijing Dispatch gives his reasons as to why Hu Jintao is more powerful than Barack Obama here :
EXCERPTS:
... As long as the U.S. economy and most of the developed economies are mired in stagnancy, the perceived power of China is all the greater. And that is the key clue to the makeup of this list.
.....
One argument for suggesting Hu is more powerful than Obama is that Hu doesn’t have to contend with those annoying artifacts of democracy like Congress, an independent judiciary, an uncensored media and voting by common citizens. But in contrast to Obama’s vast executive powers, Hu (whose title that matters most is not president but general secretary of the Communist Party of China) cannot decide the important matters of state and party on his own. He has to contend with other powerful factions as one of nine members of the Communist Party’s Politburo Standing Committee, one of whom, propaganda chief Li Changchun, is ranked 32nd on our list.
The banker and the bankee!
Asian Joke when Dubya was still President....
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George Bush: “Condoleeza! Nice to see you. What’s happening?”
Condoleeza Rice: “Sir, I have the report here about the new leader of China.”
George: “Great. Lay it on me.”
Condoleeza: “’Hu’ is the new leader of China.”
George: “That’s what I want to know.”
Condoleeza: “That’s what I’m telling you.”
George: “That’s what I’m asking you. Who is the new leader of China?”
Condoleeza: “Yes.”
George: “I mean the fellow’s name.”
Condoleeza: “Hu.”
George: “The guy in China.”
Condoleeza: “Hu.”
George: “The new leader of China.”
Condoleeza: “Hu.”
George: “Yes, who is it?!”
Condoleeza: “Hu is leading China.”
George: “Now whaddya’ asking me for?”
Condoleeza: “I’m telling you Hu is leading China.”
George: “Well, I’m asking you. Who is leading China?”
Condoleeza: “That’s the man’s name.”
George: “That’s whose name?”
Condoleeza: “Yes.”
George: “Will you or will you not tell me the name of the new leader of China?”
Condoleeza: “Yes, sir.”
George: “Yassir? Yassir Arafat is in China? I thought he was in the Middle East.”
Condoleeza: “That’s correct.”
George: “Then who is in China?”
Condoleeza: “Yes, sir.”
George: “Yassir is in China?”
Condoleeza: “No, sir.”
George: “Then who is?”
Condoleeza: “Yes, sir.”
George: “Yassir?”
Condoleeza: “No, sir.”
George: “Look, Condoleeza. I need to know the name of the new leader of China. Get me the Secretary General of the U.N. on the phone.”
Condoleeza: “Kofi?”
George: “No, thanks.”
Condoleeza: “You want Kofi?”
George: “No.”
Condoleeza: “You don’t want Kofi.”
George: “No. But now that you mention it, I could use a glass of milk. And then get me the U.N.”
Condoleeza: “Yes, sir.”
George: “Not Yassir! The guy at the U.N.”
Condoleeza: “Kofi?”
George: “Milk! Will you please make the call?”
Condoleeza: “And call who?”
George: “Who is the guy at the U.N?”
Condoleeza: “Hu is the guy in China.”
George: “Will you stay out of China?!”
Condoleeza: “Yes, sir.”
George: “And stay out of the Middle East! Just get me the guy at the U.N.”
Condoleeza: “Kofi.”
George: “All right! With cream and two sugars. Now get on the phone.”
The top 10 most powerful people, according to the magazine:
1. Hu Jintao, president of China
2. Barack Obama, president of the United States
3. Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al Saud, the king of Saudi Arabia
4. Vladimir Putin, the prime minister of Russia
5. Pope Benedict XVI
6. Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany
7. David Cameron, prime minister of the United Kingdom
8. Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve
9. Sonia Gandhi, president of the Indian National Congress
10. Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft and co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.