Conffederate
Confederate

November 14, 2009

O-bow-ma

It seems that he will never learn:

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 to a superior.

And that's the problem.

As a matter of protocol, American President's should not bow to other world leaders that are their equals. To adopt a subservient role is not acceptable as a matter of protocol, and is demeaning to the office he holds. The fact that he's done this before only exacerbates the problem.

I'm do not doubt other American Presidents have made fabulous faux pas of protocol, but I don't recall one who has ever done it so frequently, so early into office.

I guess we should simply be thankful that we he arose, he didn't give a chintzy, thoughtless gift...

Posted by Confederate Yankee at November 14, 2009 02:38 PM
Comments

Obama. ASSHAT.

Posted by: Mark Harvey at November 14, 2009 03:14 PM

Looks like he has some sort of slave mentality
Paul in Texas

Posted by: Pauk at November 14, 2009 03:18 PM

It is hard to learn, when you are obviously learning disabled.

Posted by: Musings at November 14, 2009 05:18 PM

American Power tracked back with (the best video evah!), 'Bowing Before Monarchs and Tyrants: Obama 'Restores' America's World Standing With His Head Down - UPDATE: REAGAN DIDN'T BOW!!'.

Posted by: Americaneocon at November 14, 2009 05:56 PM

I would like to respect the office and the results of the election, but I am finding it extremely difficult if not impossible to regard this man as my President, and his supporters as fellow citizens.

Posted by: zhombre at November 14, 2009 07:15 PM

Michelle?

Posted by: megapotamus at November 14, 2009 10:26 PM

The funny thing is, I don't recall him bowing to Queen Elizabeth.

Posted by: trentk269 at November 14, 2009 10:57 PM

He is a mockery and he embarrasses me constantly! I cannot wait for this tool to go home in 2012! Well actually I cannot wait for him to be defanged in 2010 and then sent home in 2012!

Posted by: Jaded at November 14, 2009 11:10 PM

Each year I teach a unit on understanding the media. It provides many opportunities for writing, analysis, dealing with logical fallacies, researching misleading and false statements, and dealing with photoshopping. I've been using photos and video of Obama bowing before the Saudi king for some time. And now I have another.

My kids (high school) don't, at first, understand why it's a big deal, but they know that the White House lying about it is wrong. When I explain that from the founding of the nation, Americans have bowed to no man, have established a classless society where all men are free and equal, and that for a President to bow to a foreign leader is essentially un-American, they get it.

While it is true that in Japan, bowing is a rough equivalent of the handshaker, as a long time student of Kendo, Japanese fencing, I can tell you that what Obama is doing goes far beyond an inferior showing respect to a superior. For that kind of formal bowing, a bow of approximately 30° is required (bows of about 15° are the norm in martial arts kata). As you can see, Obama is doing far more, in essence, debasing himself--and his nation--before the Japanese, people who absolutely understand the "base spaniel fawning," as Shakespeare put it in Julius Caesar, inherent in his sickening display. Most traditional, older Japanese would interpret what Obama is doing as strange and inappropriate. So should we.

Posted by: mike at November 14, 2009 11:13 PM

I note that a few liberals have decided to comment with their usual uneducated and uninformed opinions. They obviously don't understand the concept of slavary or how it was extablished in America.

All races were subjected to slavary at the time of the founding of the English colonies. For the liberals, that was the time that the essence of the US was extablished. It was quickly determined that whites would either run away or kill there owners. So they were not especially favored. Indians were tried but they just died. So your investment was very short lived. Then someone hit on blacks. It is felt that the original reason was because they had a relative immunity to malaria due to sickle cell disease and trait. Besides, they were easy to obtain as their familes and friends would readily sell them and there was little effort needed to collect the individuals. On arrival to Georgia, a group was taken into the backwoods and the overseers left when the malarial season started. On return six months later, not only were the blacks healthy, they had not run away despite the fact that the Spanish would have taken them in or the local Indians who were friendly. Also, they had multipled. Subsequently, it was noted that they rarely ran away. The only problem was that for a given task, it took three or four to do the work of one of another race. This is spelled out in most any text on slavary.

On another note, does anyone know about Obama's educational background. He went to Harvard so likely was affirmative action and passed along. It is not apparent that he has stood alone and critically analysed.

Posted by: David at November 15, 2009 12:21 PM

Oh for goodness sake, David.

Your comments degrade an important column at Powerline.

Obama has been going out of his way to make the US subservient to other countries as a matter of his socialist principles and some racial anger, not because the color of his skin somehow signals meniality.

Take your racist crap elsewhere and let responsible conservatives figure out what our response will be to the mess this president has created.

Posted by: observer at November 15, 2009 01:26 PM

Duh, 'ConfederateYankee', not 'Powerline'. PIMF

That said, the comment stands.

Posted by: observer at November 15, 2009 01:28 PM

I assumed David was a Moby.

Posted by: megapotamus at November 15, 2009 02:03 PM

observer,
What is racist about my statements? The mear fact that I mentioned the black race, but then how do you know my race? What I gave you is fact, history. Are all the races the same? No. Science will point that out readily. Do I believe in sterotypes? Absolutely! But that is not racism. Am I sterotyping Obama? Absolutley! But so are the individuals that dreamed up affirmative action and thus feel that blacks can not compete on their own. I did not come up with affirmative action. So, please indicate what aspect of my comments is racist, other than the fact that I have dared to indicate a sterotype for blacks and present some history. As to affirmative action comments, do you really think that all people are equal if they do not face the same challenges?

Posted by: David at November 15, 2009 04:43 PM

Obama is just showing the Japanese that he can bow better than they can. Seriously.

He really is clueless.

Posted by: Jack at November 16, 2009 05:44 AM

Each year I teach a unit on understanding the media. It provides many opportunities for writing, analysis, dealing with logical fallacies, researching misleading and false statements, and dealing with photoshopping. I've been using photos and video of Obama bowing before the Saudi king for some time. And now I have another.

My kids (high school) don't, at first, understand why it's a big deal, but they know that the White House lying about it is wrong. When I explain that from the founding of the nation, Americans have bowed to no man, have established a classless society where all men are free and equal, and that for a President to bow to a foreign leader is essentially un-American, they get it.

While it is true that in Japan, bowing is a rough equivalent of the handshaker, as a long time student of Kendo, Japanese fencing, I can tell you that what Obama is doing goes far beyond an inferior showing respect to a superior. For that kind of formal bowing, a bow of approximately 30° is required (bows of about 15° are the norm in martial arts kata). As you can see, Obama is doing far more, in essence, debasing himself--and his nation--before the Japanese, people who absolutely understand the "base spaniel fawning," as Shakespeare put it in Julius Caesar, inherent in his sickening display. Most traditional, older Japanese would interpret what Obama is doing as strange and inappropriate. So should we.
-----------------------------

Please don't teach my children, where is the school so we don't move there

Posted by: Mystico3 at November 16, 2009 06:29 AM

On another note, does anyone know about Obama's educational background. He went to Harvard so likely was affirmative action and passed along.

------------------------------
yeah, had nothing to do with grades, he was just the "lucky negro". It is "LIKELY"? likely would mean you have facts to defend your guess, other than he was a black guy that went to harvard....and columbia...
um..psst, that isn't how AA works. they don't draw straws for the lucky black when it comes to friggin HARVARD

Posted by: Mystico3 at November 16, 2009 06:35 AM

David, this might be stating the obvious, but is your last name Duke?

Posted by: Mystico3 at November 16, 2009 06:36 AM

hey confed Yankee

Please provide all of us this "protocol" you speak of that has been assigned to presidents.

-------------
I'm do not doubt other American Presidents have made fabulous faux pas of protocol, but I don't recall one who has ever done it so frequently, so early into office.
--------------

I'm do doubt that you have ever watched film of Nixon, you might want to pick it up. or W kissing the terrorist funder aka oil investor. I'll take a bow over a kiss and holding hands

Posted by: Mystico3 at November 16, 2009 06:41 AM

Mystico3, you mean David Duke the Democrat, Racist, Anti-war, Truther, who Liberals bring up in reverence?

Just curious.

Or do you actually, quite literally believe that you were just speaking to David Duke?

Either way, it's non-sequitor. The President of the United States of America shouldn't be subserviently bowing anyone. Get real.

Posted by: brando at November 16, 2009 12:23 PM

Dear Mystico3:

I normally don't do back and forth comments on blogs, but just this once... My media unit has as it's central underlying premise that the legitimate, vital function of a free press is fully and honestly informing the public in the realm of news. Opinion journalism is another matter and one may be as biased as one pleases so long as it is labeled as such. What part of expecting the news to be factual, complete and unbiased would give you pause?

Posted by: mikemcdaniel at November 18, 2009 09:54 PM