Why is he bowing to the Japanese Emperor Akihito?

Reuters photo ^ | 11-14-09

[STARWISE]

Results for search: obama bow japan

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&channel=s&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&hs=1yu&q=obama+bow+japan&btnG=Search&aq=f&oq=&aqi=

[DavidAccord]

I am not a fan of Obama bowing like that, but when he meets the Chinese Premier he will need to do that and much more. .. even if it involves massaging the Premier’s feet.

China is financing our National Debt and if Obama does’t leave the Chinese with a smile on their faces, our economy could falter and falter badly.

[Cvengr]

I think the only way President Obama can now save face with any other leader in the free world is to not only bow, but bring along his shoeshine box and show his deepest appreciation with a fresh shine.

(Shoe shine, ...Boss???)

[STARWISE]

“With the imperial visit last week, official Washington was clearly determined to show that it knew well what courtesies should be showered on the 175th inheritor of the most formal throne on earth.

Guests invited to a white-tie state dinner at the White House (a Clinton Administration first) were instructed to address the Emperor as “Your Majesty,” not “Your Highness” or, worse, “King.” And in what one Administration aide called “some emperor thing,” an Army general was cautioned that he should not address the Emperor Akihito at all as he escorted him to the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery.

But the “thou need not bow” commandment from the State Department’s protocol office maintained a constancy of more than 200 years. Administration officials scurried to insist that the eager-to-please President had not really done the unthinkable.

“It was not a bow-bow, if you know what I mean,” said Ambassador Molly Raiser, the chief of protocol.

White House officials described Mr. Clinton’s tilt as something of an improvisation. Because Emperor Akihito broke with tradition in turn to raise his glass at the state dinner, some even said Mr. Clinton had managed something of a breakthrough.

“Presidents don’t bow, and Emperors don’t toast,” one official said. “So this was a little bit like the cultures meeting each other halfway.”

http://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/19/weekinreview/the-world-the-president-s-inclination-no-it-wasn-t-a-bow-bow.html

[AmericanInTokyo]

SINGAPORE – A senior administration official said President Barack Obama was simply observing protocol when he bowed to Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko upon arriving at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Saturday.

--

Oh, realllllllly?? All the US diplomatic protocol and international norms are against you. This was not only (just) a bow in Tokyo--as you clearly try to get away with here by leaving out material fact--it was an extensively DEEP, awkward if not subservient bow, almost unprecedented in the history of Emperor Akihito receiving foreign vistors. We have the proof. We have the cultural and diplomatic experts. We are not only talking about the bow, jerks, we are talking about how ridiculously low it was and amateurish, if not ill- advised for many geopolitical reasons which you DNC cub interns just joy-riding around for the first time in Asia on Air Force One don't have the slightest idea about. We have precedent (in Saudi Arabia) to bowing and scraping by Obongo on the international stage. OK, bring it on, White House, MSM and Daiy Kos!

"I think that those who try to politicize those things are just way, way, way off base," the official said.-- Righhhht. You koolaid-drinking White House morons have the nerve to cry about "politicization". OK, smarty pants, what specifically is "off base?" Throw in another "way" and you just might have a chance at this.

"He observes protocol. ---In what way? We have the evidence and photographs to show this was a breach of protocol and cannot be defended back home to the American People.

But I don’t think anybody who was in Japan – who saw his speech and the reaction to it, certainly those who witnesses his bilateral meetings there – would say anything other than that he enhanced both the position and the status of the U.S., relative to Japan.

--Washington D.C. Beltway Bullsh@t Spin. You changed the subject COMPLETELY, didn't you? This has NOTHING to do with the Tokyo speech, we are not discussing that--even though that flopped. (Even Japanese press is emerging today in Tokyo that nothing was accomplished on this visit.) However, Mr. Senior White House official, what we ARE talking about is Obama's deep "ojigi" bow to Emperor Akihito. Don't try to change the subject to wiggle out of it. Now, back on the topic! The "bow"!

It was a good, positive visit at an important time, because there’s a lot going on in Japan." --What kind of asinine, vague, sophmoric comment is this? You sound like a second year university journalism student over a beer. Completely challengeable.

The Drudge Report gave a banner headline to a photo of the encounter: “OBAMA BOWS BEFORE JAPAN’S EMPEROR.” Drudge linked to a Los Angeles Times blog post that headlined the photo: “How low will he go?”

--Good. Thank you Freepers and lurkers and other patriots. We are having an effect. Thanks to you who e mailed Drudge.

That led to a raft of e-mail to POLITICO asking why we weren’t covering this big story.

--This story is growing legs. And the White House does not like it. They were forced to respond. A very poor, weak, shallow response I might add. They are in a corner. They cannot hid behind any b.s. cultural explanation. They know this is a PR disaster waiting to happen which will lose the Messiah even 3 or 4 more points in public opinion polls if it goes viral....

[altair]

That's a good start. She didn't pick up your and Candor7's commentary, but I hope in this case actions speak louder than words.

For the sake of our Republic, I hope this is Front Page news on Monday.

[AmericanInTokyo]

It will be within the Conservative news establishment, and then it will simply expand from there onward. If we have anything to say about it. ;-)

Text and speeches and details often bore the American people, whereas they can relate to ONE SINGLE PHOTO. We can break it down for them, in terms they understand. Their President is a weak-kneed, apologetic SELLOUT who is ashamed of the United States and his compsure indicates it. That Obama Photo at the Imperial Palace has got to be it!

[Red Steel]

“It was not a bow-bow, if you know what I mean,” said Ambassador Molly Raiser, the chief of protocol.

“Presidents don’t bow, and Emperors don’t toast,” one official said. “So this was a little bit like the cultures meeting each other halfway.”

Team Obama have set the world record for lying.

[STARWISE]

That was about Clinton and his ‘non-bow’
in ‘94.

[TigersEye]

I hit that search and then changed the wording and hit it again. 131,000 hits. Simply hitting those search parameters helps this go viral. Looks like it’s already getting some long legs.

[TigersEye]

"It wasn't a bow, exactly. But Mr. Clinton came close. He inclined his head and shoulders forward, he pressed his hands together. It lasted no longer than a snapshot, but the image on the South Lawn was indelible: an obsequent President, and the Emperor of Japan."

I'm not surprised that Clinton did it first. All crap flows downhill from that a-hole. I believe pressing the hands together is just an Indian Hindu/Buddhist thing though not at all Japanese. Another clueless multiculti clown.

[Red Steel]

That was about Clinton and his ‘non-bow’ in ‘94.

I expect Obama will dust of the old Clinton spin by saying it soon.

[Red Steel]

They know this is a PR disaster waiting to happen which will lose the Messiah even 3 or 4 more points in public opinion polls if it goes viral....

I don't think we have long to wait for Obama's disapproval poll numbers equal 40% or below.

[TigersEye]

"But the "thou need not bow" commandment from the State Department's protocol office maintained a constancy of more than 200 years."

Clinton broke the standing American protocol of over 200 years but 0ba-Ma0 buried it. No question remains that he humiliated himself the Emperor and the United States but the White House will go for the double-humiliation of trying to shine on the American people about the whole thing.

[mojitojoe]

Bowing (o)jigi (お辞儀, おじぎ), (o-)rei (お礼), is probably the feature of Japanese etiquette that is best-known outside Japan. Bowing is considered extremely important in Japan, so much so that, although children normally begin learning how to bow from a very young age, companies commonly provide training to their employees in how to execute bows correctly. Basic bows are performed with the back straight and the hands at the sides (boys and men) or clasped in the lap (girls and women), and with the eyes down. Bows originate at the waist. Generally, the longer and deeper the bow, the stronger the emotion and the respect expressed. Bows can be generally divided into three main types: informal, formal, and very formal. Informal bows are made at about a fifteen degree angle　or just tilt over one's head to the front, and more formal bows at about thirty degrees. Very formal bows are deeper. The etiquette surrounding bowing, including the length and depth of bow, and the appropriate response, is exceedingly complex. For example, if the other person maintains his or her bow for longer than expected (generally about two or three seconds), it is polite to bow again, upon which one may receive another bow in return. This often leads to a long exchange of progressively lighter bows. Generally speaking, an inferior bows longer, more deeply and more frequently than a superior. A superior addressing an inferior will generally only nod the head slightly, while some superiors may not bow at all and an inferior will bend forward slightly from the waist. Bows of apology tend to be deeper and last longer than other types of bow. They tend to occur with frequency during the apology, generally at about 45 degrees with the head lowered and lasting for at least the count of three, sometimes longer. The depth, frequency and duration of the bow increases with the sincerity of the apology and the severity of the offence. Occasionally, in the case of apology and begging, people crouch down like Sujud to show one's absolute submission or extreme regret. This is called Dogeza. Even though Dogeza was previously considered very formal, it is mostly regarded as a contempt for oneself today, so it is not used in an everyday setting. Bows of thanks follow the same pattern. In extreme cases a kneeling bow is performed; this bow is sometimes so deep that the forehead touches the floor. This is called saikeirei (最敬礼), literally "most respectful bow." When dealing with non-Japanese people, many Japanese will shake hands. Since many non-Japanese are familiar with the custom of bowing, this often leads to a combined bow and handshake which can be quite complicated to execute. Bows may be combined with handshakes or performed before or after shaking hands. Generally when bowing in close proximity, as necessitated when combining bowing and shaking hands, people turn slightly to one side (usually the left) to avoid bumping heads. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etiquette_in_Japan

[mojitojoe]

This photo was possibly photoshopped and somehow distributed by Republicans. Since the White House denied that the President bowed to the Saudi king, it follows that he would likewise never bow to the Japanese emperor. The president, unlike Bush, was raised in part abroad, has traveled extensively, and is very sophisticated. The US was founded on the principle that “all men are created equal.” President Obama knows that it would be a serious breach of protocol for the American president to bow before any monarch.

It’s possible, being so much taller, he was simply trying to look the emperor in he eye. It’s even possible that he stumbled - there are cracks in the floor clearly visible in the photo.

Robert Gibbs needs to issue a statement and clarify this immediately.

lol lol lol

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/11/obama-emperor-akihito-japan.html

[mojitojoe]

Obama heard that Barney Frank was right behind him and he was simply lining up for the docking procedure!

[LiberaMa]

“I attribute this to intentional arrogance...”

Very likely. Have you ever noticed that arrogance and stupidity always travel together (sort of like Siamese twins joined at the hip)...?

[Ronin]

Can you imagine the collective scream that must have gone up at the American Embassy when they saw that?

If Obama had talked to ANYONE at the embassy here they would have given him precise and easy-to-understand instructions on how to greet the Emperor.

It's obvious that the didn't - possibly thinking that all bows are alike and Hey golly gee won't that Emperor fellow think I am so cool knowin' about Japanese culture an all...

He'll probably ask for chopsticks at the state dinner -- even if they are serving French food.

[Protect the Bill of Rights]

Wonder if he will light a cigarette and ask the Chinese “Was it good for you?”