I never thought I would see the day, but of course the White House denys it, yes it is a new era of truth and openness......about 55 seconds into the clip [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S60U-hl35Gw&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Epolitico%2Ecom%2Fblogs%2Fbensmith%2F0409%2FWhite%5FHouse%5FNo%5Fbow%5Fto%5FSaudi%2Ehtml&feature=player_embedded[/media] http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0409/White_House_No_bow_to_Saudi.html 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. The Washington Times called the alleged bow a "shocking display of fealty to a foreign potentate" and said it violated centuries of American tradition of not deferring to royalty. The Weekly Standard, meanwhile, noted that American protocol apparently rules out bowing, or at least it reportedly did on the occasion of a Clinton "near-bow" to the emperor of Japan. Interestingly, a columnist in the Saudi-backed Arabic paper Asharq Alawsat also took the gesture as a bow and appreciated the move. "Obama wished to demonstrate his respect and appreciation of the personality of King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz, who has made one of the most important calls in the modern era, namely the call for inter-faith and inter-cultural dialogue to defuse the hatred, conflict and wars," wrote the columnist, Muhammah Diyab.
It looked to me like he was checking himself out in the reflection from the king's well-shined shoes. That's pathetic.
One other thing....I'm curious. Did he greet the queen of England in the same way? She appears shorter than the king on that clip.
how many rookie mistakes does he get? The First Family's handlers need to get their **** straight. 1. Giving a known movie hater a bunch of DVDs that won't even play in the UK. 2. Touching the Queen. 3. Bowing to the Saudi's. 4. Giving the Queen of England an ipod. 5. Nominating an entire cabinet that does not know how to pay their taxes (ok ok just had to throw that one in there )
I don't really have an opinion on whether or not it's a bad thing but he definitely did bow. No way to dispute that.
The Carters were worse. They would hug surprised diplomatic guests and kiss them on the cheek like they were old aunts at a Georgia reunion.
true Okie, but he is not the President anymore. Notice i mentioned his Handlers. It is mistake after mistake on diplomatic protocol, these handlers need to do a much better job.
Uncouth, perhaps, but I don't know if I'd call it worse. Generally, a deep bow at the waist, with the eyes lowered as POTUS did, is essentially debasing one's self before another. From wikipedia: And it gets worse still: So, did POTUS insult Muslims by inadvertently raising the King to Allah status with his gesture? You would think The Chosen One would know better.:lol:
