Friday, April 03, 2009
Why Did Obama Bow To King Abdullah?
I never thought I would live to see the day when a President of the United States of America bowed for any foreign monarch, let alone Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah. But that's exactly what happened yesterday. CNN must have missed this story. I just got through listening to Wolf Blitzer interviewing Tina Brown about how much style and class Barack and Michelle have compared to other American presidents and their First Ladies, particularly George W. Bush and Laura Bush. Michelle is a cross between Princess Diana and Oprah Brown told Blitzer. Obama is always fit and flashy she said. He wears "monochronistic colors" that really make him look hip. Michelle Malkin wonders where the Left is. The liberal media tore into Bush for appearing too cozy with Abdullah by holding his hand. I guess they're too busy analyzing Michelle's touchiness with Queen Elizabeth II to have noticed that the President of the U.S. bowed to a foreign monarch. As an aside, Obama was born a citizen of the British commonwealth because of his Kenyan father's nationality. Obama gave the Queen and Prince Philip a simple handshake and a head nod. (the head nod apparently counts as a bow). King Abdullah must have a more special place in Obama's heart with that full bend of the waist bow he gave him. An American representative of the Saudi royal family helped pay for his Harvard law school education.
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18 comments:
Just last year you were fercently arguing that Barack Obama was an Arab himself so why should you be astonished that he'd allegedly bow to an Arabian monarch?
["A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds."]
Wilson said, "allegedly bow."
Uh, if that isn't a bow, Wilson, I have never seen a bow.
Chris, You can't analyze anything I write without twisting into a whole new meaning. I clearly don't think any president should bow to a foreign monarch. Our own revolution was waged againt the British monarchy in case you had forgotten that. The Japanese custom is a form of greeting among all people and is not relevant to this discussion in the least bit. British subjects don't bow to one another; they bow to the royal monarchy as a show of being loyal subjects of the crown.
Chris, You can't analyze anything I write without twisting it into a whole new meaning. I clearly don't think any president should bow to a foreign monarch. Our own revolution was waged againt the British monarchy in case you had forgotten that. The Japanese custom is a form of greeting among all people and is not relevant to this discussion in the least bit. British subjects don't bow to one another; they bow to the royal monarchy as a show of being loyal subjects of the crown.
If you insist on the Japanese bow debate, Chris, according to Japanese custom, the deeper you bow to another person, the more respect you show to that person. By this standard, Obama showed more respect to Abdullah than Queen Elizabeth II.
Obama is an idiot. Apparently he is an Arab.
My little brother lives in Japan, I'm with AI on this one. The handshake originated out of the custom of two knights showing each other they weren't armed. The bow originated out of the custom of two members of the warrior class 'offering their heads' to each other as a gesture of trust.
Bows are greetings in Japanese culture, that's why sometimes it's as simple as a head nod...
Didn't President Bush hold hands with him?
Yes, Douglas, Bush did hold hands with him. That arguably is a show of mutual respect and equality between them. Someone who bows down like Obama did to the King suggests something less than equal respect. It suggests an inferior status in my mind, which is so unlike what Obama exhibits in his daily life towards his political adversaries and friends. What was it he told DeFazio? "We're keeping score."
Advancing Indiana? Really...
Showing one's respect and honoring a country’s customs is a far cry from kneeling on the ground and worshipping a monarch. He’s the PR head of the country and we need Saudi Arabia’s continuing alliance.
When you travel overseas are you a respectful visitor or a demanding vacationer?
Disappointing.
Hoopingarner your wrong on this one.
The United States of America is not subservient to any other nation and never will.
I don't know about you but, my forefathers fought for a reason, and because of their effort we quit bowing in 1776.
Why?
Because he is ignorant and intellectually narrow.
That's why.
D'uh.
Everything he thinks he knows about everything he learned in his Hyde Park dorm room in the early 80s. He hasn't opened his mind to anything else since then.
BTW, the same reason we don't bow to foreign leaders is the same reason the American flag is NEVER dipped when passing a head of state.
America bows to no one.
Until now, apparently.
One
Big
Arse
Mistake
America
The bowing is totally insignificant. Get over it. Niceties and rituals in the world are...niceties and rituals.
What IS significant is the ridiculous history of the gov't stalling higher mpg requirements, of the American obsession with big cars, with our 50 year "Devil may care" attitude toward oil consumption.
Stay focused.
It is not a matter of what we think of the bow it is the message sent to the our enemies; they now view Obama and by extension the USA as servants to the king... our culture may not find meaning or can argue over the meaning. in the end we are now in there mind not only an enemy but a weak one...
Obama doesn't have the mentality of a President.
When he said he'd meet Ahmadinejad without pre condition, I thought he's at the secretary of state level.
Now I think he's at the servant level
Obama, the President of the United States and leader of the free world, bows to a Saudi King who represents a despotic regime noted for its’ human rights violations, a birthplace of terrorists, a symbol of everything that is an antithesis to our system of government, and it’s no big deal?
I consider myself fortunate to have been born in a republic. I appreciate that as a citizen of a republic, I need not bow to any man or woman. We are all created equal, and blood lines do not make one person superior. This gesture by Obama should rankle every citizen for when Obama bowed as President of the United States, we all bowed.
He did bow, see the video from the latest angle:
http://tinyurl.com/obamabowedtowow
No body should bow to king or any high person.
This is not a democratic and islamic or any religious doctrine.
Sheer studity.
Riyaz
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