Kneel Before ZOD!
Posted by Media Outrage on November 16th, 2009
Barack critics, are incensed at photos of the President bowing before Japan’s Emperor Akihito.
Via AP:
WASHINGTON (AFP) – News photos of President Barack Obama bowing to Japan’s emperor have incensed critics here, who said the US leader should stand tall when representing America overseas.
Obama on Monday was in China, having wrapped up the Japan leg of his Asia trip two days earlier. But Washington’s punditocracy was still weighing whether or not the US president had disgraced his country two days earlier by having taken a deep bow at the waist while meeting Japan’s Emperor Akihito.
Political talk shows have played and replayed the moment from the second day of Obama’s week-long Asia tour, which set the blogosphere on fire and chat show tongues wagging.
“I don’t know why President Obama thought that was appropriate. Maybe he thought it would play well in Japan. But it’s not appropriate for an American president to bow to a foreign one,” said conservative pundit William Kristol speaking on the Fox News Sunday program, adding that the gesture bespoke a United States that has become weak and overly-deferential under Obama.
Another conservative voice, Bill Bennett, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” program: “It’s ugly. I don’t want to see it.”
“We don’t defer to emperors. We don’t defer to kings or emperors. The president of the United States — this coupled with so many apologies from the United States — is just another thing,” said Bennett.
Some conservative critics juxtaposed the image of Obama with one of former US vice president Dick Cheney, who greeted the emperor in 2007 with a firm handshake but no bow.
“I’ll bet if you look at pictures of world leaders over 20 years meeting the emperor in Japan, they don’t bow,” Kristol said.
Some said the gesture was particularly grating coming after Obama’s bow to Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah at a G20 meeting in April.
The US president’s Asia trip comes just over a year after he won election to the White House, and is designed to shore up US power in a region increasingly dominated by rising giant China.
But back home, Obama’s bow in Japan seems to have grabbed much of the attention being paid to the trip.
The gesture appears to have touched a particularly raw nerve among Obama critics who said the president has hastened America’s decline as a world superpower by being too apologetic and too deferential in his dealings with other world leaders.
While most of the commentary about the bow in Japan was decidedly negative, some political observers, like longtime Democratic activist Donna Brazile, came to the president’s defense.
“I think it’s a gesture of kindness,” she told CNN, adding that the bow appeared intended to show “goodwill between two nations that respect each other.”
Meanwhile, an unnamed, senior Obama administration official told the Politico.com news site that the president had simply been observing protocol.
“I think that those who try to politicize those things are just way, way, way off base,” the official told Politico.
“I don’t think anybody who was in Japan — who saw his speech and the reaction to it, certainly those who witnessed his bilateral meetings there — would say anything other than that he enhanced both the position and the status of the US, relative to Japan,” Politico wrote.
“It was a good, positive visit at an important time, because there’s a lot going on in Japan.”
Mediaoutrage- Before we ask whether or not you have any thoughts on the matter — will they ever stop riding his Presidential D**k so hard, or will they give them nutz room to breathe? Okay… any thoughts?
November 16th, 2009 at 11:54 pm
That’s custom there and he’s respecting it. I don’t see anything wrong with that. If it was custom here, I’m sure we’d all expect the same thing.
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November 17th, 2009 at 12:08 am
I don’t see anything wrong with Obama bowing to the “EMPEROR” (not the Chef) of Japan. It was meant to be a kind, goodwill gesture that a visiting leader should show a host. It’s not like he got on all four and kissed his Converse. Hell what was he supposed to do challenge him to a bamboo katana match? Test his kung fu against the Emperor’s? Quiz him on long division and simplifying the derivatives of trig functions? It seems as though Obama’s on a world tour to increase the US popularity again. Basically, what Clinton did after the Reagan/ Old-Bush er(rors)as. H.W. Bush puked in an asian Ambassador’s lap, barely apologized and everybody was cool with that?.(WTF!!!)
I guess Obama should just Jump Chestbump the next world leader…
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November 17th, 2009 at 12:54 am
The American Media will say and do anything to criticize certain people and that is a terrible thing because it makes Americans ignorant to certain things. If you look at the picture they are both respecting eachothers culture. Japanese people dont shake hands they bow. They bow for the same reason that the we shake hands in America. Americas weapon on choice is the Gun, so when greeting a person we shake hands to show that we bare no arms. Japanese people use swords as their choice of weapons and they carried them on their backs, so when you met a person you gave a bow to show that you bare no arms. So they are respecting eachothers culture in this picture. Man, even Do Dirty knows that.
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November 17th, 2009 at 1:09 am
It`s called respect..geeeeeeeez , i donm`t like the guy, but dams, can the media give him a break
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November 17th, 2009 at 1:40 am
OMG…they are just searching for shit. R-E-S-P-E-C-T is what Obama is giving.
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November 17th, 2009 at 2:53 am
Go head Obama! Just like iturboi said, at least he aint throw up on anybody!
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November 17th, 2009 at 2:50 pm
I think it was simply a gesture of respect that is being taken out of hand. He was in his home country as a guest. Also if you look closely it appears the Emperor is also bowing. Obama may be more pronounced because of the height difference.
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November 17th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
No matter what President Obama does, some will find something to criticize him about! OH WELL!
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November 17th, 2009 at 5:58 pm
Damn people will make soup out of shit! I see nothing wrong with what he did, leave Obama alone, gee. what the hell is wrong with people, Obama dont let them get to you like they did Michael!!! hold yours
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November 17th, 2009 at 6:50 pm
For real. The man is showing respect. DAMN. If crooked as Bush had done that then this would not have even been a story.
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November 17th, 2009 at 11:33 pm
i didnt even peep that Obama is like 2 feet taller than the emperor. hell he damn near had to do a push-up to bow. Peep the last thumbnail pic it looks asthough Obama might have to duck down to enter the building.
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November 18th, 2009 at 5:40 pm
The president is not an everyday person and so the little mistakes he is caught doing will be big news. He bowed very low to the emperor, and did it while shaking hands at that. It made everyone a little embarrassed I think. Big or little bow, the media reaction has been huge, here are some highlights: http://bit.ly/2BsodC
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February 8th, 2012 at 9:27 pm
You made some decent points there.. TY a ton for posting, it was very informative and helped tons. great terrific terrific.
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