Without a teleprompter, this guy is so clueless.
It’s not a US protocol, but it’s a protocol.
The “Emperor” of Japan should be required to kiss the bare ass of visiting US presidents.
I guess every other leader that has visited just didn’t realize what the right protocol was and now that we have zer0 he can educate the other world leaders on proper protocol. Aren’t we glad that we are the only country that has a leader that is so “up” on the latest protocol?
Without a teleprompter, this guy is so clueless.
bow now kowtow
It is protocol for the Hussein Admin. to be submissive to other world leaders. That’s the way they see it, anyway.
“A superior addressing an inferior will generally only nod the head slightly (some may not bow at all), while an inferior will bend forward slightly from the waist.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowing
The leader of a nation is equal to other leaders by virtue of their status. None of them should be bowing.
Obama appears to be overwhelmed by the international stage. I prefer presidents who know everyone is equal in God’s eyes. Obama’s actions indicate otherwise.
What a lies they have to concoct in order to defend the indefensible! Obama isn't following protocol, but rather smashing it to smithereens!
The protocol has been the same since the founding of the American republic. Every child educated in the United States should have been taught about it. NO AMERICAN BOWS TO ROYALTY OR NOBILITY OF ANY NATION. The reason is very simple: After gaining our independence from the British monarchy in 1776, we continue to show the world that we are a free people, not subservient to any monarch or noble anywhere!
It IS protocol. Assuming that the leader of your country is surrendering to the Emperor of Japan.
Gibbsy's still going to have to address this, IF any White House newshole gets up the courage to ask. Be mildly interesting to see how he tap dances around this. Probably misdirection, e.g. attack the reporter for pursuing a story that isn't "real news." Say something about tabloids. Etc.
And the press corps will, in the end, just accept it.
I hate this Kenyan bastard. Not like I hate Brussels sprouts...not like I hate the New England Patriots...not like I hate getting up in the dark to get through TSA before an early flight. It’s a Biblical hatred.
Easy enough to confirm. Does anyone have this book at their local library?
PROTOCOL: 25th Anniversary Edition
The Complete Handbook of Diplomatic, Official and Social Usage
Written by Mary Jane McCaffree, Pauline Innis and Richard M. Sand, Esquire
PROTOCOL is used at the White House and the State Department. Multi-National Corporations, Government circles, Embassies and Public Relations Offices consider PROTOCOL their Bible.
PROTOCOL is considered to be THE guide diplomatic protocol, social etiquette, and official use of protocol in both public and private affairs.
The bow in Japan is not , contrary to Western conventional thought, a gesture of submission. According to Japanese tradition, the human body has three “zones” . Heaven ( from the shoulders up) Man (from Shoulders to hip)and Earth ( from the hips down.) When one bows in Japan, one offers the highest of the body in respect, the heaven aspect. Obama is indeed as you say, prostrating himself, and Akihito Samma, is not bowing even a little, either because he i s surprised, or because he does not respect Obama.The real key is the empress, who is not bowing even a little.
They do not respect Obama enough to bow even a little.This is done with feeling in Japan, and is spontaneous.It is a thing involving a type of perception very different to Westernern cultural ettiquette. A genuine bow can actually be felt in the heart. And Akihito knows this bow is all show.No heart. That is likely why he does not return Obama’s bow, even a little.Nor does the Empress. Obama , intent on being the skillful inter cultural president, shows here that he knows nothing of Japanese culture.Before one bows there is a brief glance at the eyes of the person to whom one bows, a spark. This is what Obama is missing, or they both would be bowing back.
Secondly, Obama should have bowed before he shook hands, in the proper way, with his hands on his upper thigh, and he should not have bowed so deeply, because he is not a Japanese subject... a slow respectful bow of 45 to 50 degrees would have been required in his case, if Obama knew the correct protocol, which he obviously does not. So it is a false submissive bow of a man who has little honor in the way of Japanese thinking. A man who wants something. A man not to be trusted.
Obama did not fool the Imperial couple even one little bit, and they are strained to remain polite, humoring Obama as it were. Patronizing conduct gets one no where fast in Japan. Generally Japanese folks know a genuine bow from a false one by the way it feels, a form of perception which few Westerners experience, but still some do.
Obama has idiots for protocol officers, or alteratively, he did not listen to what they had to say about it.
Obama would have been much better off simply shaking hands, instead of this empty, false bow, completely off in its lack of genuiness. The bow of a snake.
I predict that Obama will make little progress with his diplomatic agenda in Japan, he will give much, and receive little in return.
Cross thread reference, mega data on the wider strategic implications of this botched “bow”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2386153/posts
Obama is an embarrassment to the word embarrassment.
Etiquette in Japan
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.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etiquette_in_Japan
Keep talking, idiots. This bunch has the audacity of total morons.