Bizarre travel issues

There is a story making the rounds right now, which although probably untrue, is a funny and cautionary tale.
A senior United States senator called an airline reservation office regarding a question about the documents he needed in order to fly to China. After a lengthy discussion about passports, the agent reminded him that he needed a visa. "Oh, no I don't. I've been to China many times and never had to have one of those." So the agent checked again, and confirmed the politician needed a visa to enter China. The befuddled politician angrily responded "Look, I've been to China four times and every time they have accepted my American Express card!"
Moral of the story: you need a visa to go to China.
Other moral of the story: there are no intelligent politicians.