Douglas MacArthur rolled in his grave and the drafters of our Constitution shrieked a ghostly howl heard round the world. Barack Hussein Obama, the 44th President of the United States of America, bowed to the Japanese Emperor Akihito.
He was caught bowing to the king of Saudi Arabia and his people said it wasn't a bow, it was just that the king was a little shorter than Obama and he bent down to look him in the eye. Nevertheless, it was a bow and we all know it despite the lie spin from his handlers.
One would think the Obama handlers would have learned from the uproar caused by his bow to the Saudi ruler. One would have thought that he would be told to just shake hands and call it good. Either he was told and was too stupid to remember, or he was not told and he was still too stupid to remember. The other explanation is that he just doesn't care. Whatever the case, it was wholly inappropriate for him to bow to Akihito.
General protocol says that when the heads of state from different countries meet, bowing and scraping is not required unless the head of state is subject to the other. An example might be the Canadian Prime Minister bowing to the Queen of England
The President of the United States should never, ever feel obligated to bow down to anyone. It is a sign of subservience. The Japanese might think it appropriate, but Obama is not Japanese. The President of the United States is not subservient to any other ruler.
Just another signpost on the road of the Obama Presidency that we are dealing with a rank amateur who is unworthy of his office and the respect it should entail.
VW
Well, I guess one way to look at is perhaps he felt obligated to do so because Japan is the second largest owner of US foreign debt. Maybe Obama feels that we have, for that reason, become subservient to Japan...and China - because they own our asses and now he's kissing theirs.
I sort of look at it as Obama bowing to "world opinion" as well. Just another step along the way to realizing his dream of transforming the US into a second-rate nation.
He definitely misspoke when he referred to himself as the first pacific president. What he should have said was that he is the first pathetic president - since Carter, that is.
Posted by: John Hampton | Tuesday, November 17, 2009 at 07:58
First, no, There have been a few pathetic ones, but he's quickly becoming the single MOST pathetic one, that's for sure!
VW
Posted by: Violence Worker | Tuesday, November 17, 2009 at 08:07
Well, look on the bright side. At least he didn't pull a "Bushu-suru" and vomit on him like Bush Senior did on the Japanese Prime Minister back in '92.
Posted by: John Hampton | Tuesday, November 17, 2009 at 08:34
President Bush (the younger) held hands with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah… a traditional sign of friendship in the Middle East.
President Clinton "almost" bowed to Akihito.
President Nixon, a Republican bowed Emperor Hirohito in 1971.
Obama's bow may have been needless, but it certainly wasn't without precedent.
Posted by: Scott | Tuesday, November 17, 2009 at 09:57
I am sure the Japanese did NOT think it was appropriate. THEY know the protocol, so I am certain they are laughing hysterically about this. It used to be that I could be proud of who was representing the American people to the rest of the world. Now I feel the need to tell anyone I come in contact with who is not from here, "Look, not all Americans are as stupid as the ones who are center stage. That goes for Washington politicians AND the Hollywood morons.
Posted by: Gina | Tuesday, November 17, 2009 at 10:57
Aww, Scott. Why do you have to go and try to spoil our fun?
We know it's not exactly unprecedented but I've never seen an American president stoop THAT low...I mean... bow THAT deeply.
Yeah, it is a traditional sign of friendship for a couple of guys to hold hands as they stroll along...in the Middle East. Bush and Prince Abdullah were in TEXAS! I'll admit, that did sort of bother me. I was, however, even more disturbed to see the prince kiss Dubya right on the lips. I don't think I want to import more cultural traditions like that over here in the interest of diversity. And that applies to the Frenchies as well. Brotherly hugs are fine but that's where I draw the line. But I'm digressing again, sorry.
Nixon's bow appeared to me to be more like a friendly nod of the head or a "how do you do" bow of the head like we are accustomed to doing here. I do it all the time.
When Eisenhower allegedly bowed to Charles DeGaulle, it actually does appear that he might be looking at DeGaulle's shoes or, something on the ground which DeGaulle might have dropped, judging from his open hand. That old vintage photo of Eisenhower and DeGaulle is probably where Obama's people got the idea to say that Obama was stooping over to get a better look at something on the ground when he bowed to the Saudi king (and kissed his ring?!:o).
Posted by: John Hampton | Tuesday, November 17, 2009 at 11:38
In any case, Obama sure looks like someone who doesn't know what he's doing in that picture. Geez, Michelle hugging the queen and Barack touching the Emperor - doesn't he have some kind of a protocol czar or someone like that who can teach him a thing or two before he goes abroad and further reinforces the idea that Americans are culturally illiterate? I'm surprised he didn't take his shoes off.
Posted by: John Hampton | Tuesday, November 17, 2009 at 11:50
It matters not the precedent. I can hardly imagine Ike bowing to DeGaulle, but anything is possible. Friendship is one thing, but bowing is dead wrong and any President who did it once can be excused for a mistake. Twice, either they just aren't smart enough to get it, or they just don't care. Either way, it's wrong.
VW
Posted by: Violence Worker | Tuesday, November 17, 2009 at 11:52
John said: "Aww, Scott. Why do you have to go and try to spoil our fun?"
;-)
John *also* said: "In any case, Obama sure looks like someone who doesn't know what he's doing in that picture."
Yeesh, he sure doesn't does he?!? Awkward as hell, shaking hands, bowing…it just *looks* uncomfortable.
Posted by: Scott | Wednesday, November 18, 2009 at 07:25
Bush-2 held the hand of the Saudi prince and took a lot of heat for it. He also held the hand or Senator Robert Byrd as he helped him walk but nobody reported him doing that.
http://pal2pal.com/BLOGEE/images/uploads/BushByrd.jpg
I chalk up Obama bowing to these foreign dignitaries to his inexperience. I think that he was so overwhelmed in meeting these men that he forgot who he was and what it was he represents.
Posted by: BobF | Thursday, November 19, 2009 at 08:20
I'm sure he was caught up in the moment. Realizing he was on camera and feeling that this was another one of those "all about me" photo op moments, he figured he ought to do something to show everyone what a sophisticated man he is - which he did by shaking hands and bowing simultaneously. Even if some consider his bow appropriate, which I do not, bowing and shaking hands at the same time is definitely the mark of a rookie. It's the same kind of telling mistake made by pretenders who smell the cork from the wine bottle when presented to them by the waiter. It immediately tells the waiter and the host that there's a rookie - and a poser - in their midst.
Posted by: John Hampton | Thursday, November 19, 2009 at 12:05
Inexperienced? Doesn't know what he's doing? How about the former head of US troops in Asia? Maybe he knows a thing or two more about proper customs that you yahoos? Here is what he had to say...
Admiral Timothy Keating, who retired last month when he ended his stint as head of the Honolulu-based US Pacific Command, said he did not hesitate to bow when Akihito and Empress Michiko visited Hawaii in July.
"That's what one does when one sees the emperor of Japan. I don't care if it's the president of the United States or the commander of 325,000 Americans," Keating told a forum at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
"You see the emperor, you express your respect for the man and the history and the position he holds and she holds," he said of the imperial couple.
"It's almost a reflexive gesture," he said. "I did it and it didn't bother me even a New York second."
I know what you're thinking "Admiral Timothy Keating! He's another one of those pinko commies who sneak into our military and serve for 38 years just so they can destroy the America he obviously hates so much." Fair point.
Posted by: Rusty | Friday, November 20, 2009 at 08:15
Rusty: Admiral Keating is not the President of the United States. He is a life-long military professional who, as such, indeed does reflexively demonstrate and express respect for positions held by foreign dignitaries, heads of states, as well as those held by miltary officers in the service of foreign governments. It is a matter of protocol.
Even I have rendered miltary hand salutes to members of the Soviet Army upon recognition when I worked on the East German border during the cold war and also when I passed through Check Point Charlie into East Berlin. It was military protocol and it was expected of us professionally.
Admiral Keating is accustomed to such protocol and formality. I have no qualms with him for paying the respect he thought appropriate to the Japanese emperor during his visit to Hawaii. However, I'd be willing to bet that he knew how to do it without sending the wrong signal. And no, I do not consider him another commie pinko who snuck into our military with the intention of facilitating the destruction of America. I seriously doubt that anyone else thinks of him in that way. That's ludicrous.
Rusty, you are grasping for straws as you continue to defensively rationalize your support for someone who consistently shows himself to be a toxic asset. You must be in denial.
I personally do not view it as inappropriate for the President of the United States to show mutual respect for the emperor's position by bowing upon meeting him - IF he had done it in a more appropriate and respectable manner.
Obama's gesture is not worthy of respect - and for that reason he does not receive it from the American people nor the Japanese. He did not even do it correctly which belies the false image of him held by many who have been deluded into believing this imposter to be a worldly, culturally literate and sophisticated man. He is a fool with dishonorable intentions.
Posted by: John Hampton | Friday, November 20, 2009 at 11:06
By now the Japanese have probably already coined a new term like "Obama-suru" which would mean "doing the Obama thing" and is using it to refer to the way ignorant foreigners incorrectly render a bow (ojigi)when visiting Japan.
Posted by: John Hampton | Friday, November 20, 2009 at 11:27
Rusty, I don't give a fiddler's damn about what that admiral thinks. I'd bet a paycheck there are a lot more general/flag officers that disagree with Keating.
I wouldn't bow to the Emperor. If I wouldn't bow to any US President, I wouldn't bow to some foreign monarch.
That doesn't mean I would treat the emperor with any disrespect, but Akihito is not my lord. Bottom line, is that the president was wrong to do so.
VW
Posted by: Violence Worker | Friday, November 20, 2009 at 12:12
John,
According to the book "Japanese Business Practices and Culture" - Jon P. Alson "If a japanese holds out his hand, then grasp it gently and make a quick handshake while making a small bow." However, I'm sure you're more of an expert on these things than the person who literally wrote the book on them.
VW - I was being sarcastic about the commie pinko thing. I just meant that you would be dismissive of his knowledge of the customs and put your own "expertise" above his. I was right.
It shouldn't surprise me that conservatives could be completely dismissive of eight years of foreign policy that destroyed the reputation of the US in the eyes of the world and left us bankrupt and fighting two wars. But let Obama bow to someone and suddenly "We're not going to stand for this!!" Should he have puked on him? Held his hand while they walked around together, rubbed his shoulders?
Posted by: Rusty | Tuesday, November 24, 2009 at 10:43
Rusty, it was wrong. You can spin it any way you want, but it was wrong.
What's funny is that a lot of people who dissed Bush are starting to understand that he was a lot better at this foreign policy thing than this rank amateur currently playing President.
VW
Posted by: Violence Worker | Tuesday, November 24, 2009 at 10:59
Rusty: You call that a small bow? Obama's bow exceeded even the more formal 45-degree bow which, according to Shizuko Mishima who has also written much on the subject, is the type of bow which signifies deep gratitude, a formal apology, asking for favors, and so on.
I don't really know a great deal about Japanase culture and tradition, but I know a few things. It would be natural for me to have enough interest in Japan that I would bother to learn some things about that country since I was, believe it or not, born there.
Posted by: John Hampton | Tuesday, November 24, 2009 at 12:04
Rusty, sometimes I think you ought to be jap-slapped.
Posted by: John Hampton | Tuesday, November 24, 2009 at 13:06
As someone who has lived in Japan for a number of years, I'd say that if I ever met the emperor I'd bow. In Japan its a sign of respect. In America we have a cultural aversion to bowing, In Japan it is more common than shaking hands is in America. The delivery man drops of a package, he bows. The Store clerk sees you leave, she bows. You give someone the time of day, they bow.
Also this is nowhere near as bad as the Saudi incident. In Saudi Arabia, the king is also the head of state a bow to the king is a bow to the state. The Japanese emperor is emperor in name only. He is a ceremonial figure, he is not the Japanese head of state.
Even though I would bow to the emperor as a sign of respect, not subservience (he doesn't sign my paycheck) I am not the head of state and believe it was incorrect for President Obama to do so considering the position he holds. I just don't think its as big of a deal as people are making it out to be and also think that bowing to the Saudi King was much, much, worse.
Posted by: Bloodytommorgan | Tuesday, November 24, 2009 at 14:50
John,
"jap-slapped" You do have a way of elevating the discussion to the highest intellectual levels, don't you. It's about what I expect from conservatives.
VW,
What people? I don't see any way you can paint Bush foreign policy in a positive light. As for Obama, it's way to early to judge his foreign policy efforts. Can you tell me one clear, demonstrable, negative outcome of his policies? I don't mean "Look at him bowing! That's really stoopid!" I mean something that's measurable.
Posted by: Rusty | Wednesday, November 25, 2009 at 10:57
It is not way too early. It's already a disaster and no one is saying different. His latest trip through Asia was a failure by all accounts on the left and the right.
He has managed to piss off the Brits, the French the poles and the rest of Eastern Europe while caving to the Sovie...er Russians at very turn. Hell, his State Department is so damned incompetent, they can't even translate "RESET" into Russian.
Absolutely nothing positive so far has come from his foreign policy which seems to be so far "bow and scrape".
VW
Posted by: Violence Worker | Wednesday, November 25, 2009 at 11:22
Damn, Rusty, you are dense aren't you? What in the world would make you think I was trying to elevate the discussion to a higher intellectual level as it pertains to you. I was merely suggesting a possible way of bringing it down to a level closer to your own so that you might better understand and more easily see the foolishness of your fondness for such fallacy.
Posted by: John Hampton | Wednesday, November 25, 2009 at 13:27
Rusty, it's just my way of letting you know that I am willing to go that extra mile to help you with your healing process.
Posted by: John Hampton | Wednesday, November 25, 2009 at 15:12