Putting aside the fact that the President of the United States should bow to no one (Reagan must be rolling in his grave), I am guiltily excited that after eight years of seeing George Bush laughed at, Barack Obama is revealing that he is as bumbling as his predecessor.
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“The President should bow to no one.”
Are you saying that the president shouldn’t have bowed his head to the Queen of England, which is protocol, and which, accordingly, he did? Obama likewise followed protocol by bowing his head to the King.
Bush held Prince Bandar’s hand for crissake.
Unless i’m missing something becasue I don’t have the translation, there’s nothing to see here, move along.
Ha, look what King Abdullah did. Clearly bowing to him was neither protocol nor expected.
I guess I’m still missing what he did.
Me too, Aqueous. I really don’t see what the problem is.
Jack, it seems to me that your problem is not so much a violation of so-called “protocol,” but rather this idea that by bowing to another world leader, the United States comes off as inferior and subordinate to other world leaders. I base this off your opening statement that the US shall bow to no one.
I think a simple bow such as this simply shows respect for another world power, and hopefully it is one step toward restoring America’s image abroad as a benign world power and dispelling the foreign notion that the US is an arrogant empire.
My “problem” is that Obama screwed up, plain and simple. He looked like a goofball bowing to the King of Saudi Arabia (only a few days after he shook the Queen’s hand – he didn’t bow to her, Aqueous). Watch the King’s hands – he reached out for a handshake.
It was a stupid mistake, and it was funny. I realize that there is a tendency to defend Obama no matter what, but frankly, he looked like an idiot and I feel fine laughing at it. I never heard any of you defending Bush when he did something dumb.
As for my remark about bowing to nobody, there is a legitimate conversation to be had about the politics of appearances. But that’s for another time. Right now I feel like chuckling.
I don’t see showing too much respect as a huge faux pas either,
but, eye of the beholder I guess.
Where we clearly do differ, however, is how you feel guiltily excited when you think the president of the U.S.A is acting like an ass, whereas I always felt embarrassed and dismayed.
Of course I feel embarrassed and dismayed – especially when Obama makes an ass out of himself in the section of the world that hates us the most.
For eight years, I felt like attacks, criticisms, and jokes about or against George Bush were aimed partially at me. And for his biggest mistakes – not the Inspector Clouseau moments – I also felt partially responsible because I twice voted for and consistently defended George Bush.
I feel guiltily excited because I don’t feel the same responsibility right now. I can sit back and laugh at Obama because I didn’t vote for him. I feel guiltily excited because liberals might soon start to realize that the man is only human. I feel guiltily excited because the man himself might start to realize he is only human.
And maybe by “guiltily excited” I really mean “relieved.”
Of course I support President Obama, and of course I laughed at George Bush. But I feel like some of you are in my old shoes now – and I hope, for your sake, that they don’t wander as far off the path.
I thought I saw a slight bow in Obama’s head when he was shaking the Queen’s hand. In any case, this has moved beyond the pointless and mundane to the utterly meaningless. All I have to point out is that if your chief complaint about Obama are his alleged gaffes on the world stage, that I have to admit I hadn’t even heard about until now, he must be doing something right. And also if you think anything Obama has done is even comparably embarassing/hilarious as this, I think we’re just going to have to have a truce.
EDIT: ‘Of course I support President Obama, and of course I laughed at George Bush. But I feel like some of you are in my old shoes now – and I hope, for your sake, that they don’t wander as far off the path.’
This renders above point unfair. Sorry. I didn’t read that post before the last reply.
This certainly is not my chief complaint, nor was it Obama’s only gaffe (or even close). Clearly his comment about the Special Olympics takes the prize so far – and it was definitely more embarrassing than Bush’s admittedly strange Merkel massage.
The Special Olympics thing was horrible. I was very embarrassed.
But — “I feel like some of you are in my old shoes now” — uh, no. Not even close.
I didn’t mean in terms of the embarrassment or screw-up factor, I meant, in vague terms, “it’s all on you now.”