Barack Obama "Would Not Want Your Kids Growing Up in Beijing"

Ouch. It was bad enough when Louis CK described Beijing as a "giant Dayton, Ohio" on David Letterman's show, following his visit to our fair city for a secret performance. But now Beijing is the butt of a joke by someone with a slightly larger reach: US President Barack Obama.

"I would just point to one simple example, and that is you would not want your kids growing up in Beijing right now, because they could not breathe," Obama said Wednesday in remarks relating to new environmental protection regulations in the US.

The comments hurt especially because Obama's most recent visit to Beijing, during November's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), brought some of the bluest, skyiest days the city had this year. The President travelled solo this time, with First Lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha having visited Beijing in March.

Just because Beijing doesn't plan to end the burning of coal until 2020, or by its own estimates won't have clean air until 2030, doesn't mean ... oh nevermind.

It's ironic, since as this post is being written, the current Air Quality Index (AQI) in Beijing is a breathtaking 25, based on data supplied by the US Embassy.

Photo: The Daily Telegraph