Political talk shows have played and replayed the moment from the second day of Obama’s week-long Asia tour, which set the blogosphere on fire and chat show tongues wagging.
“I don’t know why President Obama thought that was appropriate. Maybe he thought it would play well in Japan. But it’s not appropriate for an American president to bow to a foreign one,” said conservative pundit William Kristol speaking on the Fox News Sunday program, adding that the gesture bespoke a United States that has become weak and overly-deferential under Obama.
Another conservative voice, Bill Bennett, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” program: “It’s ugly. I don’t want to see it.”
“We don’t defer to emperors. We don’t defer to kings or emperors. The president of the United States — this coupled with so many apologies from the United States — is just another thing,” said Bennett.
Some conservative critics juxtaposed the image of Obama with one of former US vice president Dick Cheney, who greeted the emperor in 2007 with a firm handshake but no bow.
“I’ll bet if you look at pictures of world leaders over 20 years meeting the emperor in Japan, they don’t bow,” Kristol said.
Just because he is a leader of a mightiest country it doesn’t mean he has to be rude asshole, bow is very apropiate.
However, as chuck said (#29), nobody SHAKE HANDS AND BOWS in the same time!
This showed complete lack of knowledge what is apropiate.
For a head of state it was huge faux pas, and indeed it looks like Obama indeed just saw a penny on the floor when he was handshaking with Emperor (as #14 Austere Powers noted) 😀
Anyways, not that most of Americans would ever notice it, so it’s still OK… at least he didn’t high-five the guy 😉
Check your Japanese customs. That deep a bow is for an underling to a superior. A simple head nod with slight bending at the waist would have been appropriate for the situation.
And the State Dept Protocol folks should have explained that to the President. But since they work for Hillary they probably told him the wrong thing on purpose.
Again, next time don’t fcking say hi or shakes hand if you have a problem with this! Enough said. If you’re not American as #30 responded, then tell us how you greet each other these people can make a huge mess of it too.
Seriously, if you don’t want to greet anyone then don’t. But don’t expect your lame ass to be consider in a nice way, in ANY culture.
Right-Wing perspective is around maintaining control of the meeting and to not imply any sort of weakness.
Left-Wing perspective is around the well-intentioned attempt at being culturally sensitive.
Overall, there’s more important things to talk about than this. Such as Cap & Trade or Government-run Health Care.
He he…so amusing.
0bama shook hands and then suddenly bowed to the King of Arabia. He was carrying out protocol and then was carried away with his Muslim heart and bowed to the keeper of Mecca. This is being used as evidence that he is only faking being leftist. He is first and foremost Muslim.
When America was catching on to this fact, he had to do it again to someone. The Emperor was a good person to do it with. The leftist shills will say this is proof he isn’t Muslim.
In Japan protocol requires either a bow to the god in the other person or a handshake as an equal to the other person. Not both.
What utter and complete crap!!! I fly into Japan at least five or six times a year and I have always been bowed to and bow back.
Few pay much attention to the degree of the bow, just that it was done. To ignore a bow is an extreme signal of disrespect.
I can picture these idiots at FOX blathering about whether a handshake was sufficient to show respect. Do you shake right hands and then grasp with the right hands with the left? Do you pump up and down while covering the other person in spittle as you shout “GLAD Y’ALL COULD MAKE IT!!!” Do you shake vigorously or leave your hand limp?
Only a wing nut would care enough to make a big deal out of it.
May be Obama thought he should take his height into consideration when he bowed.
For some Americans, coming across as arrogant ass jerks is better than being polite and respectful. Of course, these same people also do not want to come across as intelligent either.
#38, Timmy,
He was carrying out protocol and then was carried away with his Muslim heart and bowed to the keeper of Mecca.
You do realize that you are a fraud and won’t be allowed into heaven. God doesn’t like frauds. And I don’t think God likes you. I know I don’t.
He could at least give him a dap or a pound.
Respect. The new weakness!
Is there a Nobel Prize for bowing to the most foreign leaders?
I don’t see what the fuss is about. Obama has pretty much conceded that every other leader in the free world is his superior and I pretty much agree.
This is more of a question of whether Obama really understands the USA. Him growing up outside the US, I truly don’t think he really understands America. (I wonder if he still thinks there are 57 states?)
We settled the issue of bowing before Emperors, Kings and Potentates when Cornwallis surrendered in 1781. Obama doesn’t seem to get this.
Will he direct the US Olympians to dip the American flag now? (Something we haven’t done since the Berlin games in 1936).
If you want to see how an American greets an Emperor, look at this photo:
http://tinyurl.com/y8wgnbh
See, if American were better at teaching people about foreign cultures, we wouldn’t have this problem. I blame the educational system.
Not a word (of course) about how shaking hands is NOT a traditional Japanese custom, and yet he’s shaking the president’s hand!
It’s almost like they’re trying to be diplomatic!
Obama isn’t required to bow, because he is Emperor of America.
Anyone remember when Bush was holding hands with the Indian leader while they walked in the Rose Garden?
That was their custom, but in our country.
So no one remembers things from only a couple of years ago?
#43
No, more like “no respect for the new weakness”.
After all Obama is not the Mesias, so settle down ..
I guess the right wing nuts forgot Eisenhower bowing to Queen Elizabeth, the Pope, the Italian Prime Minister, Archbishop Iakovos of New York, President DeGaulle of France, among others; and, Nixon bowing to Emperor Hirohito, the man who bombed Pearl Harbor; and Reagan bowing to the King of Saudi Arabia. Contrary to popular belief, Ford wasn’t bowing to Prince Abu Dongding; he was admiring the dung between the prince’s toes.
In more recent memory though, we have Bush I puking all over his Japanese hosts and Bush II holding hands in a very gay way with Crown Prince Abdullah, a Muslim. Definitely NOT a Saudi tradition but what happens in Crawford Texas, stays in Crawford Texas. Not to mention the Crown Prince was invited to the Crawford ranch more than any other world leader.
I found the Japanese appreciative of attempts to observe their customs. Now go to France and try to speak a bit of French. They try to kill you with that sardonic glare only they can do.
“Honorable sir, please keep buying our debt instruments.”
ROTFLMAO
Yet more fake Republican outrage. Idiots. If you have nothing real to discuss or debate, just make up stuff. Pathetic.
It’s just a ‘custom’. When you’re in a foreign country you great them by THEIR title and form of greeting. It’s how the State Department always worked.
If not, then you MUST believe George Bush is gay. Why else did he kiss another man repeatedly on multiple occasions, and walk around holding his hand. Either George Bush is gay, or he was just following a greeting custom and kissing another man for that reason. LOL
And since conservatives don’t read books, or bother with details, I’ll explain. The custom is you bow and your head should just be below the head of the Emperor. Normally this would just be a ‘slight’ bow, for people of near equal heights. But Obama is a lot taller, so he has to bend a lot more.
But facts or reality don’t matter to the anti-science, anti-evolution, anti-reality Republican party. So they will just “believe” whatever they want. It’s funny and cute, but sometimes frustrating when you’re trying to explain something. It’s like talking to a 4 year old. They can kind of understand words, but can’t put them in conceptual context and really understand them.
#59, Glass,
That is so well put. Damn, I am laughing at those who still won’t recognize themselves.
@ MikeR:
Is it polite to lie? WH lied when Obama bowed to the Saudi King! Now he bows again! My mom told me lying was NOT polite!
Some people have far too much time and far too little understanding of what is important in American politics today. What a bunch oif slack-jawed idiots. Debate aout diplomatic protocol some more, it’s f*cking hilarious.
This liberal also wishes we had a real president. One like Clinton who led the country to it’s highest level ever, to only be ruined by the slack jawed idiots who made the election of an Obama possible.
Obama just did it wrong. When you bow with respect, you shake your own hand. When you bow with a handshake, you are a character in the Michael Keaton comedy “Gung Ho”
THOSE….ARE RIBBONS OF SHAME!!