WASHINGTON — For President Bush, it would seem a small gesture to make a big point: Staying away from the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Summer Olympics would send a clear signal of U.S. anger over China’s crackdown against anti-Beijing Tibetan protesters.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will not attend the opening ceremonies. John McCain, the Republican senator Bush has endorsed as his successor, says he would go only if China improved its rights record. And the two Democratic presidential candidates, Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, are urging Bush to miss the ceremonies.

Yet Bush is giving no indication he will skip the event. Too much may be at stake for him to do so.

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