Amid the roar of fireworks and elaborate tributes to China's 5,000-year-old civilization, athletes from 204 nations - of 205 - marched into Olympic Stadium, the steel-girded Birds' Nest, before dignitaries that included President Bush, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Hu Jintao. Only Brunei proved a no-show, failing Friday to register even one athlete.
Through at least this one night in China's capital city, the Chinese authorities and the International Olympic Committee sought to put any controversy aside. The message that rang out before a sell-out crowd of about 91,000 souls in the stadium, that was televised to billions around Planet Earth, was one of idealism and recognition:
