Speculation has already begun on whether President will meet with the Dalai Lama in October.

Says the AP: “Obama must make a delicate calculation as he considers a meeting with the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet’s Buddhists, seen by his supporters as a symbol of peace but vilified by China as a `wolf in monk’s robes’ who seeks to split Tibet from the rest of China.

Whatever Obama decides about the visit will spark anger.”

As this picture indicates, the two met in 2005 while Obama was in the Senate.

The Dalai Lama will be in California later this week as he commences yet another U.S. tour that will take him from Santa Barbara to Boston to New York. In Boston he will inaugurate MIT’s new Dalai Lama center, dedicated to promoting ethical behavior.