You might not care whether President Obama bowed or didn’t bow. Do you care if he lies to you about something that’s supposedly so trivial?
Here’s what Politico.com said about Obama’s bow-that-wasn’t-a-bow last April:
The White House is denying that the president bowed to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia at a G-20 meeting in London, a scene that drew criticism on the right and praise from some Arab outlets.
“It wasn’t a bow. He grasped his hand with two hands, and he’s taller than King Abdullah,” said an Obama aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
If I was spreading a load of crap like that, I’d want anonymity too. Here’s a guy who’s not anonymous, unfortunately, making the same claim:
And again, here’s the non-bow in question:
He bowed. It was glaringly obvious that he bowed. The White House then told you to your face that he didn’t bow. It was a veritable “2 + 2 = 5″ moment.
But they’ve been workin’ on it since then! Here’s Politico.com again with the White House’s latest attempt to explain why your eyes are liars:
Greeting the Japanese emperor at Tokyo’s Imperial Palace last weekend, President Barack Obama bowed so low that he was looking straight at the stone floor…
The images from the president’s journey through Asia carried a potent symbolism that has riled critics back home. One conservative website called the episodes “Obamateurism.” Former Vice President Dick Cheney told POLITICO that Obama was advertising “weakness.”
But White House aides say the approach is deliberate — part of Obama’s determination to deliver on his campaign promise of directly engaging friends and enemies alike, giving America a less belligerent posture abroad…
President George W. Bush was accused of practicing “cowboy diplomacy,” with an emphasis on American power and self-interest that came off to many people as jingoism.
On his maiden Asia swing, Obama has made a vivid display of his own trademark style — the diplomacy of deference.
Ah, the diplomacy of deference! The importance of being abject.
So let’s sum things up: When you thought you saw President Obama bowing deeply to King Abdullah, all you really saw was a tall guy shaking hands with a shorter guy. And when you thought you saw President Obama bowing deeply to Emperor Akihito… um… Okay, he really did do that but it was totally on purpose and did we mention he’s not George Bush?
And remember, there is no contradiction between the two. You must reconcile them both in your mind.
Or else.
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Deference sounds so much better than treason.
“The Diplomacy of Deference!”
Back in the day they called that ‘appeasement’. I’d suggest you ask that Chamberlain guy just how that worked out for him.
It is NEVER a good idea to appear weak. It frightens your allies and encourages your enemies. The real trick isn’t making friends by groveling, but by making the idea of standing with you palatable and the thought of standing against you unthinkable.
There are some serious problems facing this country and while some think this bowing incident is insignificant, I think it is yet another example of a pattern of behavior that should make us even more uncomfortable with how the Obama administration conducts itself on the world stage. What’s next? Is he going to kneel before other leaders?
Doublethink makes my brain feel doubleplusungood.
I especially liked this part of that politico.com article:
‘White House senior adviser David Axelrod, who is accompanying the president on his four-nation, nine-day trip, told POLITICO that Obama is “governing in just the way that he said he would” during his campaign.
“He believes in vigorous engagement around the world — in strong alliances, in confronting our adversaries and standing up for human rights by making these points in a very public way,” Axelrod said.’
Especially because he was also quoted as saying to some Chinese indivduals who happened to have been hand-picked by the regime to be at the ‘town hall’ meeting as saying, “I think it’s very important for the United States not to assume that what is good for us is automatically good for somebody else.”
So basically, I know China only engages in suppression of human rights very infrequently and only just a little bit, but I find it kind of funny (which is to say, disturbing) that he would say to these Chinese people how fine and dandy it is that they continue doing things in such a way. But then again, I can kind of see how he might be supportive of another country hand-picking their audiences. But maybe that’s just me
2012 can’t come soon enough. And that’s coming from a guy who didn’t vote for him, but still usually supports the president with the idea that what’s good for him is usually good for the country.
Boy I’m sure glad we didn’t do something REALLY stupid like make a dolt like Palin VICE-president.
If my Granny was still here for this mess, she’d be screaming, “He’s the Antichrist”!!!!
I can see how war is really peace.
I am not advocating a US only viewpoint, but as president of the United States it is his JOB to think of the US first, and advocate for our interests over those of other countries. That doesn’t mean he can’t take other countries’ viewpoints and positions into account, but as our leader, AMERICANS COME FIRST. Chinese leaders should think of Chinese people first, French leaders should think of French people first, etc. That is what they are supposed to do, what they are elected to do, and what they are expected to do. You pull for your country, other people pull for their countries, you compromise by choosing the course that harms your country the least and benefits it the most, that other countries will support.
LEADER OF THE FREE WORLD does not mean working to benefit everyone EXCEPT Americans. It’s just an expression, not an actual job description. Obama needs to show some of those Midwestern qualities his grandparents supposedly instilled in him, instead of acting like a fool. I don’t know if it was Harvard, Chicago or a genetic mutation that caused the idiocy, but it needs to stop. Get the man some cowboy boots.
Ignorance is strength, Snitch. Animals and proles are free.
How more embarressing can this administration get? How long until the next election?
2012 seems so far away.
Deference, Grovel, same thing right?
source: White House Dictionary 44th ed.
And the greatest of Past Obama’s hypocrisies…
Get the man some cowboy boots.
————————
What he needs is for someone to KICK HIM with a pair of cowboy boots…..preferably with spurs attached.
I’d like to hear what BO has to say about this. You know, even if it’s BS from BO’s own lips – I’d like to hear him directly address the controversy.
Now that the international houseboy got a whiff of oppression big-league style in China, our a$$es are going to be sorer than ever when he gets back.
Only if I get to decide where to put them and how far.
The most unbelievable thing about the Chinese visit was his statement that the PRC needs to do away w/its internet firewall. Considering O’s plans to put a clamp on the web, that would leave them with more freedom than we’d have. What a colossal asshole. I don’t care if he’s malevolent or incompetent; the result is the same.
Personally, Beige, I think he’s malevolent and incompetent. Which is the most dangerous combination possible. I just hope he’s too incompetent to get his malevolency to accomplish much–but–I think it’s too much to hope for.
I’m with Pasta on this one
Thank goodness McCain and Palin didn’t get into the White House! Gosh, just think of all the disasters that would’ve come from that–we’d probably all be dead by now or something.
What is it South Park said? “An election is always a choice between some douche and some turd. They’re the only ones who can get that far in politics.”
oh, Pearce, that is so IT!
And as Shorty McAhmadinajad & his nuclear henchmen and have so aptly noted, because we treat our friends and enemies exactly alike, there really is no point in being BFFs.
What’s the skinny American president gonna do if we enrich our own uranium? Unfriend us?
You know, this excuse reminds of the whole “what is sex anyways?” Thing of the past. “What is a bow anyways?” Either way this guy is an idiot.
Something just occurred to me… is their perhaps a double agent in the White House? Someone close to the POTUS who is giving bad advice intentionally? One can hope.