The easiest way to defend and explain Obama's bowing: he is not a disrespectful DICKHEAD. . .

[wndycty]

. . .like his predecessor and the f'ing tea baggers who want to make a deal about it.

That is all.

[rfranklin]

1. It is a custom, like shaking hands...

but the right wing nuts get their panties in a wad over anything that isn't strictly 'Murkan.

[Gman]

2. There is nothing to explain. That's what they want us to do

explain. It's like making someone deny something. Same thing.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

11. When Bush kissed the Saudi Prince and held hands with him

well did we hear anything

[TheBigotBasher]

3. it was a mutual bow of respect

nothing more. Do Rethugs think the best recognition of respect is to throw up on someone?

[Catshrink]

4. +1

[smalll]

15. Oh dear. A "mutual bow of respect"????

No it most definitely wasn't! The Emperor did NOT bow back! It turns out, the Emperor, as a rule, NEVER bows to other people. He was not going to bow, no matter what Obama did. I don't blame the Emperor for that, that's just "custom" or "culture" or whatever else you want to call it.

At the same time, Obama and the Emperor ARE equals, in a very important respect -- they are both heads of state. This is why international "custom" and "culture" has always been that heads of state do NOT bow to the emperor - instead, they engage in a "mutual" handshake of "respect."

Look, I agree that fundamentally this is all a pretty unimportant issue. But to try to spin this as somehow a sign of Obama's greatness or intercultural genius or something makes no sense. It was a minor flub on his part, nothing more and nothing less.

[TheBigotBasher]

17. Come come

here is the actual "bow" as recorded by the not so Commie loving mad Atlas Shrugs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6mcVbx-Bz0

This is the biggest load of bollocks since Ron Jeremy and just as uninteresting.

[treestar]

18. They aren't equals

The Emperor is merely an inherited position - Obama won an election and is a real leader.

American is an anti-monarchy. but we are not so pompous that we don't respect other countries who preserved theirs and it is not a "flub" to respect the Japanese PEOPLE by respecting their monarch.

[CTyankee]

19. If Nixon bowed to Emperor Hirohito and Eisenhower bowed to the Pope, DeGaulle, Archbishop Iakavos,

the president of Italy and his wife and W kissed and held hands with the Saudi Prince, well....????

Please, the repubs are guilty of rank hypocrisy.

Sorry, I won't give them a goddam thing here...no Democrat should!

[drm604]

5. It's a distraction.

They'll use anything to distract people from discussing real issues.

We shouldn't be conceding the idea that it even needs to be defended. Maybe what we should be doing with this kind of nonsense it to call it what it is and just state that it's a silly distraction and that we'd rather discuss things that actually matter.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

10. The RW won't let Obama have success they will try anything

[Captain Hilts]

6. When in Rome...or Tokyo, do as they do. Err on the side of 'polite'. nt

[otohara]

7. Shame on Huffington Post

for making the "bow" a big deal - there are over 4000 comments on HP. The uglies over on the right seem to enjoy showing their complete disregard for tradition and culture.


Anyone who has ever gone to Japan knows bowing is part of everyday life there.

[Thrill]

13. Huffington Post is about as bad as Drudge these days

No longer even go there and deleted their App off my IPhone

[Bluenorthwest]

8. No need to defend Obama's bow to Republicans

just remind them of Bush 41 puking on the Japanese Prime Minister in 92 and suggest that anything short of projectile vomiting on the Emperor is an improvement on that visit.

[C_U_L8R]

9. And most of all... Obama is confident

he bows with the confidence of who he is and the power he wields.

Unlike these republican weenies who are so insecure in their own virility
that they feel compelled to make hamfisted hotheaded gyrations of gaseous flaccidness
exuding the most enormous stink signifying nothing. Oh meh.

[marshall]

12. Those same people are the ones who griped about Obama not groveling to the flag

I wish they would get their priorities straight.

[goclark]

14. Same people that talked about him not wearing a flag pin

He put one on and has kept it on.

Can't remember seeing them hitting on that one lately ~ they are BS crazy!

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

16. Same ones who complained about him saluting the troops' coffins.

Anybody who has an issue with this is a crazy racist buffoon.