sunday." chris, we talk a lot about the unknowns in political campaigns and a week ago, i don't think we knew the name chen guangcheng and now, this is huge. and they are saying this is the big of the showdown between the united states and china since back in 2001 when they captured that reconnaissance plane. is it your sense, chris, the president knew this, or was he surprised how big this mushroomed? >>chris: we do not have any sense what the president specifically knew but, clearly, the administration and particularly the united states embassy in beijing seems to have been somewhat surprised by it and, obviously, from their point, difficult, sensitive coincidence of this happening just as clinton and treasury secretary geithner everyone arriving in beijing. the caveat that mike raised at the end of the piece was appropriate. all the chinese foreign ministry said is he can apply like any