| Obama's Bow to Japanese Emperor Not Reciprocated |
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| by Tom McGregor | Mon, Nov 16, 2009, 12:03 PM |
 During a state visit to Japan, President Barack Obama bowed to the emperor, but his public gesture of subservience was not reciprocated by the head of Japan's royal family. According to traditional Japanese custom, the refusal to reciprocate a bow with a bow could be deemed as the ultimate insult. It's as if the emperor of Japan is making a statement to the U.S. president that Obama stands unworthy in his presence.
According to the Los Angeles Times, "a brief news video has been added (on the LA Times website), showing the greeting in this photograph. Contrary to some claims, the video shows no reciprocal bow by the emepror, who traditionally bows to no one. And (LA Times) added a file photo from 2007 of Vice President Dick Cheney greeting the Japanese emperor at the same residence in a different fashion." The LA Times asks the all-important question: 'How low will Obama go for the world's royalty?' Apparently, the bowing photo had gained the U.S. president an abundance of approving nods in Japan last weekend, particularly among the older generation of Japanese who still worship the royal family in its downtown castle in Tokyo. Extremely low bows are deemed to be signs of respect and deference to a superior. Yet some in the U.S. believe that an upright handshake would have looked better. As reported by the LA Times, "Obama could receive some frowns back home as he did for his not-quite--or-maybe-about-the-same bow to the Saudi king not so long ago." Akihito, who will celebrate his 76th birthday this month, is the eldest son and fifth child of Emepror Showa, the name provided to an emperor and his reign after his death. The LA Times reports that, "Emepror Showa is better known abroad by the life name of Hirohito. He became emeperor in 1925 and died in 1989, the longest historically-known rule of his nation's 125 emperors." To read the entire article from the Los Angeles Times, link here: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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Comments (15)
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written by Byron George , November 16, 2009 Good grief..what is wrong with this President? Is he stupid, crazy or both?
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written by furrpiece , November 16, 2009 Traditionally, American presidents have never bowed to royalty or other heads of state. We are a republic comprised of people from all over the world, and bow to no one. (Where bowing is considered polite according to protocol, they have nodded as a respectful gesture.) President Obama didn't bow to the Queen of England, our closest ally. But, he reflexively bowed to - and kissed the ring of - the King of Saudi, a high Islamic religious official as well as a head of state, and one to whom bowing for Muslims is required. There is speculation that the deep bow in Japan was an attempt to "justify", and lessen the damage over, the subservient bow to the King of Saudi. However, given our historic relationship with Japan, and especially the lack of a reciprocal bow, it appears Obama embarrassed himself and humiliated the United States. Since Obama recently made a point in a public speech to let people know he had learned we have only 50 states, I'm wondering whether his PR people haven't told him to clean up the long list of previous mistakes he's made; mistakes that have caused a loss of confidence and trust in him. The strange thing is that Obama has said in a recent speech that no nation should stand above any other nation; a ridiculous notion, but his own words. So, why would he bow to an Emperor who isn't even a head of state? I think Byron has hit on something.
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written by Paul Barnes , November 16, 2009 A small knowledge of history would be of help here. Not only did Presidents Nixon and Eisenhower bow to foreign leaders (Nixon to the Emperor of Japan, Eisenhower to Charles De Gaulle), but President Bush actually held hands with and kissed Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah.
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written by Byron George , November 16, 2009 The defenders of President Obama have gone from "Change" to "but Bush"
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written by Paul Barnes , November 16, 2009 Whups, I forgot one more. Ronald Reagan bowed for Queen Elizabeth II. If this is all the right-wing has to get worked up about then heaven help them.
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written by Jason K , November 16, 2009 The question is, were people up in arms when previous Presidents bowed? If not, then this is should be no big deal. I, personally, don't see a problem here. And Byron, look up hypocrisy. Obama bowed! rabble rabble rabble! But previous Presidents have as well... Obama bowed! rabble rabble rabble!
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written by John Weekley , November 16, 2009 President Reagan didn't bow to Queen Elizabeth. He slightly nodded his head. However, his Chief of Protocol, Lenore Anneberg, cause quite a stir by simply dipping her knees slightly. American Presidents don't bow to heads of state or royalty. (One "slight" exception I've noted is in greeting the Pope, and some confusion about the Dalai Lama.) In our country, we're all equal. Our president (and most other public officials) bow to no one on behalf of our country.
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written by John Weekley , November 16, 2009 Paul, like the French, there is a tradition in Saudi of old friends kissing each other and men holding hands. President Bush and the Prince Abdullah shared many close friends together, had talked by phone many times, and were beyond close allies. The holding of hands was a sign of President Bush, the host, guiding the Prince as a close friend. It was not the same as a bow, and not a sign of subservience.
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written by Byron George , November 17, 2009 Jason, I'm fully aware of the meaning of hypocrisy. I have been watching it from the left for the past 8 years both on this blog and thru the media. Neither you nor the media will criticize this president. Regardless what he does you will defend him. Now that my friend is hypocrisy.
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written by John Weekley , November 17, 2009 Jason, the short answer is "Yes" to the very few Presidents who have bowed. President Obama and Mrs. Obama also broke protocol by offering their hands first to Queen Elizabeth, and other women on trips. It's fine for a man to offer his hand to another man, but not to a woman. As well, nobody offers his hand to a woman first, at least in diplomatic circles and in polite society. Strangely enough, it's just fine if an American citizen wants to bow or curtsy to a foreign head of state. But, Presidents should never do it, and First Ladies should always follow the directions of the White House protocol people. Manners aside, President Obama is sending inconsistent messages to the international community who, rightly or wrongly, pay incredible attention to what American presidents do. President Obama has the enormous advantages of being tall, thin, and very good looking. So, his movements are exaggerated. If he would simply nod with his head, shake hands with the men, and wait for signals from the women, he'd do just fine. I hope what he is not doing is trying to emphasize in protocol his self-held belief that America is not better than other nations. We are considerably better than most nations, have rescued much of the world from disaster several times, and still stand as a beacon of individual liberty, government that is servant to its people, and as a fortress for the Rule of Law over the rule of Men.
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written by Ken Dickson , November 17, 2009 Obama insults the memory of those who died in WWII to allow him ghe freedom to make all the mistakes has made as president! Those men on the Bataan Death March had to bow just for a bowl of rice! Goid help our country!
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written by Jonathan Green , November 18, 2009 You know, white folk in Dallas County are becoming a joke. Its your fore fathers who initiated slavery, tried for years keep African Americans subservient and when our President shows respect to a World Leader it's an issue. What a joke! Seems to me, some of you White Folks should get back to the basics, learning how to LOVE.
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written by Byron George , November 18, 2009 JG, You nailed it. But my friend, you are the joke. You would have died of a heart attack if someone had made your post using the word "black." Showing respect is one thing. Bowing before them is another. Btw, I have never had a slave and it was your forefathers who sold the Africans as slaves in the first place. Write comment
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