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US admiral defends Obama's Japan bow (AFP) – 1 day ago WASHINGTON — The former top commander of US troops in Asia on Thursday strongly defended President Barack Obama against critics of his bow to Japan's Emperor Akihito, calling it a gesture of respect. Admiral Timothy Keating, who retired last month ...

The entire segment from tonight's Hardball has Chris Matthews analyzing what's going wrong with the Obama administration. He hits on several points including the decision to try Khalid Sheik Mohammed in New York, the group is too intellectual (too much Ivy League) and my personal favorite, he's missing the magical touch as witnessed by his bow to the Emperor in Japan. If you don't have time to watch the whole clip skip to 4:15 to pick up on Matthews rant about the bow, but he's surprisingly on target for the most part on where Obama is failing:

JOIN THE MOCKING IN SONG - the classic "SUKIYAKI"

Here is video of Karl Rove tonight talking to Sean Hannity about President Obama's conduct on his overseas trip to Asia. Rove agreed with former Vice-President Dick Cheney, who said: "There is no need for an American President to bow to anyone. Our friends and allies don't expect it, and our enemies see it as a sign of weakness." - Dick Cheney Rove said a slight nod would have been seen as respectful, but the low bow to the waste was not viewed as needed or appropriate by the Japanese or others. Rove pointed out that if it is appropriate...

The man just can't help himself, or he just doesn't care, this is following his town hall meeting in Shangai, Obama bows to the man with the microphone...Good Grief,.. (Video)

President Obowma continues his world tour impressing the natives everywhere. We are so lucky to have such a culturally aware president who knows better than all his predecessors on how to behave.

Title in-full is: "Obama Bow To Emperor Inappropriate-- U.S. Conservative Faction Criticizes"(オバマ氏の天皇にお辞儀は不適切　米保守派が批判 (They are essentially saying that US Conservatives are asserting that. (But it is fairly widespread here as a perception, and growing, although to-date Japanese have been their typical polite goodselves in playing down the faux paus of an ignorant, visiting, protocol-devoid foreigner, in this case POTUS).(http://www.47news.jp/CN/200911/CN2009111601000125.html)Goes on to say that U.S. Conservative blogosphere, FOX News, etc. have picked up on the Obama bow as inappropriate. Also tied it into the earlier Obama bow/genuflection to Saudi Arabian King.For your information.It is actually from a Kyodo News report, which means...

“I think that those who try to politicize those things are just way, way, way off base" the official said.....OK, now we got it, Obama was observing protocol, and we are politicizing it....Well there you have it...(Story from Politico)

Obama bowed to emperor as 'protocol' By: Mike Allen November 14, 2009 11:08 PM EST 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. “I think that those who try to politicize those things are just way, way, way off base,” the official said. “He observes protocol. 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 –...

We criticized Barack Obama when he bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia. Americans do not bow to royalty. When the royal is the ruling tyrant of a despotic regime, the wrong is compounded. Obama's bowing to the King was deeply offensive. When the story emerged from the shadows of the Internet, Ben Smith ran an item on Politico with the White House denying the bow. "It wasn't a bow. He grasped his hand with two hands, and he's taller than King Abdullah," said an Obama aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Bill O'Reilly ran a bemused segment...

Standing at over six foot in height, Barack Obama had to bow deeply as he paid his respects to the diminutive Japanese Emperor Akihito. But the comical sight, which saw the President bend almost double, will no doubt earn him nods of approval in Japan, where a low bow is a sign of great respect and deference. Obama met the emperor and Empress Michiko at the Imperial Palace today, a stop on his nine-day Asian tour that will also see him take in Singapore and China.

Both Allahpundit and I referenced this blast from the past at the time Barack Obama bowed to Abdullah earlier this year. It’s worth posting again, not just because Obama pulled another boneheaded protocol violation and bowed to an emperor, but in this case bowed to the same emperor with whom Bill Clinton almost committed the same protocol violation. Douglas Jehr, in a 1994 New York Times report, made it clear that had Clinton actually executed a full bow, it would have destroyed a precedent dating to the founding of the Republic:

Bad enough that Obama bowed down to another head of state yesterday. Even worse that he did not bother to learn how one bows in Japan, and just winged it. I agree with Scott Johnson, Steve Gilbert, Andrew Malcom, and many others that the President of the United States should not be bowing before any head of state. But unlike these astute observers, I actually know a little something about the art of the bow in Japan, having lived in Japan four different times on a resident visa, taught East Asian Studies at Harvard, and counseled many hundreds of American,...

I though Americans do not bow to members of royalty? The King of Saudi Arabia, and now the Japanese Emperor? And as the LA Times points out …. there was no reciprocal bow from the Emperor. Contrary to some claims, the video shows no reciprocal bow by the emperor, who traditionally bows to no one. And we’ve added a file photo from 2007 of Vice President Dick Cheney greeting the Japanese Emperor in the same door way in a different fashion. And all the Queen got was an ill advised pat on the back. I guess when it comes to...

Bad enough that Obama bowed down to another head of state yesterday. Even worse, he did not bother to learn how one bows in Japan, and just winged it. I agree with Scott Johnson, Steve Gilbert, Andrew Malcom, and many others that the President of the United States should not be bowing before any head of state. But unlike these astute observers, I actually know a little something about the art of the bow in Japan, having lived in Japan four different times on a resident visa, taught East Asian Studies at Harvard, and counseled many hundreds of American, European,...

President Barack Obama is greeted by Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko upon arrival at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo Photo: REUTERS

President Obama, representative of the American people bows to Japan's Emperor Like he bowed to the Saudi king.

U.S. President Barack Obama bows as he is greeted by Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko as he arrives at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009. You know, he is getting better at this sort of thing. Practice makes perfect. This one has to go straight into the Obama Scrapbook section, "My Greatest Achievements." While a normal, well-brought-up American knows that free men do not bow to monarchs, it is interesting to read Miss Manners on the subject of bowing to foreign monarchs, not that manners is what we expect to see in this case.

How low will the new American president go for the world's royalty? This photo will get Democrat President Obama a lot of approving nods in Japan this weekend, especially among the older generation of Japanese who still pay attention to the royal family living in its downtown castle. Very low bows like this are a sign of great respect and deference for a superior. To some in the United States, however, an upright handshake might have looked better. Remember Michelle Obama casually patting Britain's Queen Elizabeth on the back during their Buckingham Palace visit? America's royalty tends to make movies...