Here we go again from Neo-Conservatives damning Obama on EVERYTHING! Even Dick Cheney chimed in to attack Obama for bowing to the Japanese Emperor during his visit to Asia this week.
President Obama's deep bow to Japanese Emperor Akihito on Saturday may not have violated any official protocol, but critics of the presidential act of deference nevertheless say he's guilty of bad form.
The incident followed Obama's dip to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia in April, which the White House said was not a bow despite the criticism that followed.
But in Japan, the White House could not argue with a photograph that showed him bent at a nearly 90-degree angle while shaking the hand of the emperor, as Empress Michiko smiled faintly next to him.
Instead of denying the gesture, an administration official defended it, telling Politico.com that Obama "observes protocol" and that the greeting "enhanced both the position and the status of the U.S. relative to Japan" -- where a bow is just another version of a handshake.
But 'protocol?'
Pamela Eyring, the president of The Protocol School of Washington, said that while there's no "hard-and-fast" rule, a bow is not appropriate when national leaders meet.
"They're peers. ... Unfortunately, it isn't correct for a chief of state to bow to another chief of state," she told FoxNews.com. "It's not appropriate. He should not be bowing to other chiefs of state."
She said Obama was clearly trying to show respect, but that the royal couple would not expect such a gesture from a Western leader. Eyring, who reviewed the video of the encounter, said they seemed a "bit uncomfortable" watching Obama bow.
"When you're representing the United States of America, everything speaks ... on behalf of our country," Eyring said. "It's a visual. It shows more of a subservient look."
By most accounts, it hasn't been official protocol for a U.S. president, or any American, to bow to a foreign head of state or symbolic monarch. Other heads of state and officials, like former Vice President Cheney, have greeted the Japanese emperor with a handshake -- which Eyring said is the appropriate custom. Link
Cheney may give just a handshake but he is NOT a diplomat nor a respected world leader. The world sees him as a fascist tyrant and a criminal. So getting diplomacy advice from Dick Cheney is like learning table etiquette from a bunch of apes.
This outrage is ridiculous but then again, coming from Conservatives - it is not surprising.
It seems Conservatives live in a shelter, closed box completely blind and unaware of the cultures and differences outside their own.
The Orient is completely different from the West but yet, their stubbornness tells them, when in Rome, do as an Ugly American.
Obama's bow has less to do with America's inferiority or weakness (as they proclaim) - but more to do with respect and international diplomacy!
And lets not forget: Bill Clinton bowed to Emperor Akihito in 1994, Richard Nixon bowed to Emperor Hirohito, and Dwight Eisenhower bowed to French President Charles DeGaulle.
And the Best one of all: George W. Bush clasping hands with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah which ended with a kiss.
So a bow from a US President is considered inappropriate and disgraces America.
But handholding and a man-to-man kiss (on the lips) is all acceptable!?
Apparently, it all comes down to this - it is wrong if a Liberal Democrat President does it but absolutely acceptable if a Conservative Republican President does it!
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