Posted on 11/23/2009 1:35:14 PM PST by markomalley
President Obama's bow to Japan's Emperor Akihito in Tokyo earlier this month ignited anger from some conservatives who complained, in the words of blogger Donald Douglass, that the United States "now willingly prostrates itself before the rest of the world."
Now the president is responding – kind of. The Atlantic quotes "a US government official who was on the trip" who says the president was left "speechless" by the controversy.
"Obama's attitude was, this is an elderly gentleman in a country where this kind of greeting is customary," said the official. "It does not seem extraordinary to show this kind of gesture to him."
"The Fox News poll said that 67 percent of Americans thought [the bow] was a good thing for him to have done," the official continued. "When the president heard that some people had complained, I'd characterize his reaction as: The notion that the United States is somehow humbling or humiliating itself by showing respect for a local custom, when it is transparently the most powerful country in the world, leaves me speechless."
As criticism of the president for the bow bubbled up, media outlets noted that anger over what some see as excessive presidential deference to a foreign leader is nothing new. President George W. Bush was criticized for holding the hand of Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah, while Presidents Clinton and Nixon took heat for bows or near-bows to the Japanese emperor. Mr. Obama has also been criticized for genuflecting to Abdullah.
On the other hand, you can avoid the controversy by just acting like a US President for once.
Good call!....Stay speechless Obama!
Really? Sorry, I find that hard to believe.
I suppose every other US President, in post WWII, who happened to meet the Emperor and didn’t bow, would be left speechless to understand why any US head of state would do so...
Obama? Speechless? The teleprompter must be broken.
Nixon bowed.
On the other hand, you can avoid the controversy by just acting like a US President for once.
Beat me to it!
Remain SPEECHLESS, you tard and do U.S. all a favor.
And leave the teleprompter at home too. Then I am sure you will keep your stupid mouth shut.
Isn’t this a change in the official position of the White House about what happened?
I seem to recall that at the time they denied it was in fact a bow at all.
Now it seems he is saying he did bow, (but it should not be a big deal.)
BS Barry - you didn’t show that much concern for your beer summit professor - the elderly man had to be helped down the steps by the cop he was at odds with while you skipped merrily ahead....
Oh, well that's better then. The diplomatic position is now that the Emperor, head of state of one our staunchest allies, is just a kindly old uncle who we treat with respect because of his age. Hell, he probably didn't even know who was bowing to him. They took him back to the home right after the bow.
Can anyone in this administration do the right thing, or after screwing up, at least give a non-insulting answer?
We are lost. Berlin went to his pinhead.
Holding hands in Saudi Arabia is a sign of friendship and equality, not subservience.
I thought the same - 67% did NOT think it was a good thing????
Heheheh
Speechless is a good thing. Most of us wished he would shut the hell up. I personally cant even stand the sound of his voice, anymore.
Well all righty then, I guess okay after all, yeesh
If he had wanted to bow, he should have asked the protocol officers how to do it properly. That is what the protocol officers are FOR.
What he did was gauche, condescending and made him look like a stupid rube.
The Kenyan Klod could be rendered speechless simply by umplugging the teleprompter.
What a bleepin’ asshat,,,,,,,,,God save us from this idiot.
Ignorance...or in Obama’s case, Narcissism, is bliss.
speechless? We should only be so lucky.
Actually, I don't believe the circumstances leading up to the bow. Inasmuch as OBOWzo suffers from Carville Syndrome, he spends nearly every day in the incredibly uncomfortable position shown and, as a result, shoves his contacts up his... Oh, never mind.
Barry did a friggin 90° Bend...most Japanese don't ever go past 45°!!
I never could..ugh. The condescension and elite mannerisms, esp when pronouncing his “s”’s...
I loathe this man more, every time he opens his mouth.
“... in a country where this kind of greeting is customary,... .”
It is customary to bow slightly but not at a 90 degree angle.
It’s very American to believe that a bow is just a casual way of showing friendliness/respect and doesn’t mean much. True.
But the fact that the President doesn’t consider what his actions mean in other countries, just assumes his casual American customs are OK everwhere, or didn’t have anyone advising him otherwise - is all rather scary. Kind of makes Obama the “ugly American” doesn’t it?
Here is the Fox News poll in question.
So the question wasn't: was Obama's bow OK. It was if it was "appropriate for him to bow to a foreign leader if that is the country's custom."
Minor difference.
That’s because it’s completely imaginary.
He’s not some private citizen honoring another private citizen. Maybe he’s just too damn STUPID to realize that as President, it was inappropriate. That’s pretty stupid though.
So after the war, Hirohito gave up his position as a “god”, so therefore he is nothing now.
So Obama is just foolish.
The true God, our God, said he was looking for men, who did
NOT bow to other “gods”. He is our God, a jealous God, faithful and true.
I’ve seen the picture. Both men are either bowing to each other at the same time, eye to eye and hands properly at sides or they are leaning toward each other in order to hear the other speak. Either way, neither looks subservient to the other.
And besides, am I the only one who remembers the controversy that lasted for days — on every major news channel — when Reagan’s chief protocol officer curtsied to Prince Charles during a visit in 1981?
The pompous media snots went on and on about that for weeks, moaning that this woman had callously damaged the dignity of the Republic and should be tarred and feathered. And this was a MINOR State Department official.
Yet when Obama ignores protocol, does it badly, and looks like an idiot - Hey, no problem!
“It is customary to bow slightly but not at a 90 degree angle.”.....
I’d call Obozo’s bow a pant splitter.....
If you can’t tell the difference between the “greeting” bow of Nixon and the “humble” bow of Obama, then there is no hope for you understanding the Japanese culture at all.
Obama’s mannerisms are low-brow.
“I’d call Obozo’s bow a pant splitter.....”
I’d call it “ass kissing.”
Nixon bowed to Mao Tse-Tung (almost worse)... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kI0GMR2w59Y
And comparing the two bows (not saying they both aren’t bad) Obama bent full on at the waist. Nixon just bent forward a bit. Still a bow, but Obama trying to explain it away, like it’s a nice gesture for their “custom” is such BS. At least Nixons looked more like a head nod, instead of a full on, subservient bow, IMO.
If it was a nice “equal” gesture is customary, BOTH people bow to each other. And I didn’t see the emporer bowing or even moving for that matter.
Obama is a putz. He’s the worst, pansy a$$ president America has ever seen, IMO.
Someone thought it would be another great photo-op.
I guess they thought wrong, he made sure that everyone had evidence of what an a-hole he really is in an actual picture that says it all.
So arrogant he didn’t see the need for briefing or preparation or history or anything.
Yawn.
Thus, you have no answer to that. Obama’s bow was a submissive bow. The Nixon bow was nothing of the kind. You know it.
A respectful head nod would have been sufficient Mr. President but not a bow like you did before the other guy. Also, don’t you have protocol showing you the way as other Presidents have had or...do you just like to do things your own way and then make a spectacle of yourself????
A respectful head nod would have been sufficient Mr. President but not a bow like you did before the other guy. Also, don’t you have protocol showing you the way as other Presidents have had or...do you just like to do things your own way and then make a spectacle of yourself????
Is he and his protocol chief that clueless?
In Japanese terms, this was the kind of bow of a mentally defective ditch-digger would make before a Shogun.
Or in this instance...
Low bow? lol ;)
He showed no respect to the College Professor when he walked down the steps of the White House and let the policeman “who acted stupidly” help the elderly Professor.
It is not customary in Japan to bow so deep -- unless you are a street-sweeper.
Anything Obama does is good.
He just instinctively knows the correct thing to do, at all times and under all circumstances.
He's just better than you. Get used to it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.