ABC's Jake Tapper Gets Imus To Sound Like A Communist Government

Live from Beijing, China, ABC News's Chief White House Correspondent Jake Tapper shared with Imus some of the spookier aspects of traveling in a Communist country. He called yesterday's town hall event with President Obama and 400 Chinese college students "a weird scene."

"They sat there for an hour before the town hall began in just complete stone silence," Tapper said of the crowd. "I've never been in a room with five college students who were that quiet, much less 400."

The questions were "soft," said Tapper, and not spontaneous. The best question, in his view, sought Obama's opinion on China blocking certain Internet sites, one of which is Tapper's own blog, Political Punch.

"[Obama] talked about Internet freedom, and the importance of it, " Tapper reported. "But the Chinese government didn't even run this town hall meeting broadcast live on state-run TV. They showed snippets later in the day covering just the softest part of it."

Tapper is always freaked out in Communist countries, and relayed a story about being spied on in Vietnam nine years ago. Since he's never been to a Communist country, Imus couldn't relate, and instead asked why Obama traveled there in the first place.

"I think it's mainly international diplomacy," he said, naming one of Obama's key campaign promises. "Obviously the U.S. needs China's cooperation on a number of things, especially when it comes to sanctions against Iran and North Korea. Not to mention the fact that we owe them $800 billion."

But what happens, as Imus wondered, if China suddenly wants its money back?

"I don't know," Tapper said, sighing. "The questions is more, what if they decide to stop buying U.S. debt because they no longer have any faith that debt is worth anything?"

There is, however, an inherent discomfort in owing someone or some country money, whether that amount is a mere $5 or a whopping $800 billion. Tapper said it's a feeling he knows well, then claimed he was joking, although Imus tried to pin him as a deadbeat.

Tapper avoided such an admission by Imus's inability to pay attention, as he shifted gears to Attorney General Eric Holder's decision last week to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other 9/11 planners in criminal court in New York City.

"I can't imagine the President wouldn't know what Holder was about to announce," said Tapper, who pointed out that as a Senator, Obama had called Mohammed an "excellent candidate" for a military tribunal.

In the meantime, a new CBS poll out today shows that pretty much everyone is losing patience with Obama's handling of Afghanistan. The I-Man, however, was losing patience with this interview, so Tapper asked what he thought about Sarah Palin's book.

"Don't be asking me a bunch of questions that are none of your business, Tapper," said Imus, eerily resembling the Chinese government.

-Julie Kanfer