[TontoKowalski]

...hugging Mrs. Abe would have been avoided if she had asked the State Department's local protocol adviser to explain the appropriate etiquette.

I don't get all this hugging of strangers.

Who does that when you first meet someone, or greet someone who is merely an acquaintance, rather than a close friend? And even if you did think it might sometimes be appropriate, why would you do that in a non-social setting?

I suppose she saw celebrities doing it on "The Tonight Show" and assumed that's what people do.

[Tax-chick]

I don’t understand it, either. In many cultures, throwing yourself into someone’s personal space is insulting; maybe that’s why she does it.