“The 2,008 percussionists with illuminated drums, the 29 separate sets of fireworks, the 14,000 musicians, acrobats and trapeze artists performing pageants representing 5,000 years of Chinese history, the dramatic lighting of the Olympic torch by a gymnast suspended from a wire. Of course, the lighting of that flame in Beijing may precede the passing of political power from West to East. On the other hand, it might not.”