Posted on 11/17/2009 12:23:17 PM PST by presidio9
Dick Cheney is blasting Barack Obama for plunging the presidency to a new low - by bowing to the Japanese emperor.
The White House deemed the weekend gesture a sign of respect. But Cheney chided it was downright wimpy.
"There is no reason for an American president to bow to anyone," Cheney complained to the Politico.com. "Our friends and allies don't expect it, and our enemies see it as a sign of weakness."
Maybe Cheney would prefer if Obama and Emperor Akihito had simply walked hand-in-hand, as former President George W. Bush did with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah in 2005 - a traditional sign of Middle Eastern friendship.
Or perhaps Cheney is forgetting that ex-President Richard Nixon, a Republican, bowed in 1971 to Akihito's father, Emperor Hirohito - who ruled when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941.
No matter, Obama's bow - a full-on, bend-to-the-waist affair - had the Miss Manners set all atwitter yesterday as those on both sides debated the diplomatic meaning of the gesture.
State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters that the bow was "a sign of respect to the emperor."
In an online State Department posting from 2007 titled "Protocol for the Modern Diplomat," envoys are advised to be aware of greeting rituals such as kisses, handshakes or bows and to follow a country's tradition.
"Failure to abide with tradition may be interpreted as rudeness or a lack of respect for colleagues," advises the posting, which make no mention of whether the rules should apply to a President as well.
Others suggested that if Obama flubbed, it was not in bowing to Akihito but in then following the bow with a vigorous handshake - something not normally done.
White House officials suggested that the bow was simply an extension of Obama's pledge, first made during last year's campaign, to scale back the so-called "cowboy diplomacy" of Bush and set a more respectful, engaged tone with the world.
"This is part of what the president says all the time - that he wants to be mindful of other cultures," one senior administration official told Politico. "That doesn't take anything away from our culture."
Many conservatives, however, complained that Obama's deference had gone too far.
"Maybe he thought it would play well in Japan," said conservative pundit William Kristol. "But it's not appropriate for an American President to bow to a foreign one."
Nonsense, said longtime Democratic activist Donna Brazile.
"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."
John Park, a senior researcher at the U.S. Institute of Peace think tank, said it is a respectful tradition for visitors to bow to the emperor in a formal setting.
But, he said, "We're in an environment right now where everything is hypersensitive. Any type of move that you do, there will be some group that sees some sort of message within all that."
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/11/17/2009-11-17_low_blow_exvp_dick_cheney_slams_president_obama_for_bowing_to_japanese_emperor_a.html#ixzz0XFHQRyNy
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/11/17/2009-11-17_low_blow_exvp_dick_cheney_slams_president_obama_for_bowing_to_japanese_emperor_a.html#ixzz0XFHQRyNy
But he isn't American..............
Donna Brazile thinks it’s OK for an American president to bow to a royal head of state?
Well, now I know what the president did was incorrect.
Donna Brazile? Baloney.
“There is no reason for an American president to bow to anyone,” Cheney complained to the Politico.com. “Our friends and allies don’t expect it, and our enemies see it as a sign of weakness.”
_______________
I concur. And, I’ve always like Cheney. He’s a classy man, IMO.
These people are just INSANELY protective of Obama. Now anyone who objects to his kowtows to foreign leaders is a member of the "Miss Manners set."
Shameless.
With all the other things BO can be critized for, this is really a waste of time.
Larry Sinclair might be able to confirm this
“White House officials suggested that the bow was simply an extension of Obama’s pledge, first made during last year’s campaign, to scale back the so-called “cowboy diplomacy” of Bush and set a more respectful, engaged tone with the world.”
Yeah, they called Reagan a cowboy, too. We all saw the effect his no-nonsense effect that had on the Cold War. “We win, they lose.”
State run media going to bat for their boss again.
Umm...the Saudi King was very, very sick, at the time, dying as a matter of fact. And he did pass away not too long after that meeting. Plus holding someone's hand is not equal to bowing before them like 0bozo did.
Nice try.
Yes, he would because traditional signs of FRIENDSHIP are fine. Friendship is a good thing to cultivate among our allies.
But traditional signs of SUBSERVIENCE are definitely NOT OK for a US President.
comparing hand holding to a bow is disingenious at best. holding a hand is not a sign of subservience as a bow is.
BHO as usual got it wrong. He should have been bowing before or Chinese creditors in Bejing who are financing his reckless and irresponsible deficit spending policies, not the Japanese emperor.
Where do they find the clowns they quote in the papers? Do they have a big list of "Morons to call about bowing protocol"?
So Obowma should take up bowing to Putin in order to be kind?
Every time he screws up he needs called on it.
we shake the hand of our janitors the same way we shake the hand of our President.
The only thing Brazile bows to is The Col.’s twelve piece bucket!
OMG!! Did they really say that his bow was BUSH'S FAULT?????
I’m one of those who thinks (1) he did it to divert attention from the bow to the Saudi king and (2)he’s too arrogant to listen to any advise the protocol folks try to give him. Further, I’d point out that any kid growing up in America learns that he or she is the equal of any other person on this earth and does not need to bow the knee to anyone else. But kids growing up outside America learn early to kow-tow to save their skins. Just chalk it up to Vain Hussein’s growing up in a Muslim country.
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