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A little traveling, like a little learning, can be a dangerous thing. Barack Obama on the loose in a foreign land is enough to frighten protocol officers and embarrass the rest of us. He went off to Asia to tell the Chinese a thing or two about world trade, to prepare the world for a treaty to make the sun change its spots, and of course to pay his respects to assorted heads of state, with particular attention to any royal head (perhaps even including Miss Universe) who crosses his path. So far it's a memorable trip. He established a...

One of President Obama's major campaign promises was to improve the United States reputation abroad. I wonder if he meant that he was going to make America the butt of the World's Jokes. Yesterday the POTUS had another Protocol faux pas by bowing down to Japanese Emperor Akihito, the second time he bowed down to a world leader (King Fahd of Saudi Arabia was the first). By subordinating himself to other world leaders the President has damaged the prestige of the office he holds and of the country. The press in other countries are now running stories with headlines calling...

It wasn't what George Washington would have done, but President Obama had no problem breaking with tradition and bowing low before the Japanese emperor yesterday during a visit. The president greeted Emperor Akihito at the front door of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo by bending at the waist and dropping his head in a deep bow -- a sign of respect and deference to the diminutive leader. *snip* Then-President Bill Clinton caused a ruckus when he slightly dropped his head before the same Japanese emperor in 1994. White House protocol experts had rushed to defend Clinton's token head bob to...

President Barack Obama has bowed to royalty, with a greeting for the Japanese emperor that erases any doubts about what the president's posture was -- remember that bow to the Saudi king that was not really a bow? And some people are falling over backwards today. Our colleague, Andrew Malcolm, at Top of the Ticket, muses on the president's meeting with Japanese Emperor Akihito today, and suffice it to say that the article will light a brush fire of commentary stoked by the hot winds of the Drudge Report's headline. See the Ticket's report there or read it here: (And...

TOKYO (AP) - Japanese officials rushed on Friday to dismiss suggestions that the emperor overstepped his authority and meddled in government affairs by voicing his opposition to Tokyo schools' policy of compulsory patriotism. Wading into the controversy over patriotism in schools, Emperor Akihito on Thursday said he hoped nobody was being forced to face the flag and sing the national anthem - both potent symbols of Japan's brutal 20th century invasion of Asia. The comments caused a stir in Japan because the post-World War II constitution strictly limits the emperor to acting as a figurehead and bars him from policy-making....