Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action.Ian Fleming
Mr Barack Hussein Obama violates both international and White House protocol by bowing to the Emperor Akihito of Japan.
This would not be that big a deal in and of itself. After all, every president makes mistakes from time to time, but The One has a long history of refusing to acknowledge his own country's flag while saluting other nation's and for showing obsequiousness towards tyrants while delivering calculated insults to America's closest ally, so this scarcely counts as a one-off.
What I find most interesting about this is that Mr Obama has an entire State Department brimming with sponge-trousered types who understand protocol and certainly briefed him in detail on how to greet another head of state. Since Mr Obama not only bowed to the Emperor, but did so while a) shaking hands (a tourist mistake) and b) going so low that he looked like a Japanese peasant trying to explain to the local daimyo that the rice crop failed because he poured a truckload of paraffin into the paddies, the only conclusion I can come to is that The Light Worker ignored State's advice and ad libbed to show off his brilliant multicultural chops as America's first "Pacific president" on the start of his next "I apologise for the United States and don't you think I'm fabulous?" tour.
To put it another way, Mr Obama isn't so much bowing to Emperor Akihito as he is mooning the United States.
Next up: Mr Obama gives Kim Jong Il a foot massage.
Update: Scroll down to the comments by richao for a detailed examination of this incident and showing who are the "yokels" here.
1 comment:
There is a certain sub-sub-genre in Japanese letters: old samurai types lamenting about the decline of manhood since their days. Hagakure is a famous example. In one such book, I remember reading an opinion that when one goes to a different province, he should make sure to keep his own local customs and manner of speaking (Brits in the US using all the extra 'u's in writing, for instance), lest he appear ridiculous.
So much for the overall impression. As far as I know, a 90-degree bow is about right for a Japanese subject greeting his emperor. For a foreign head of state, maybe not so much. Sure feels all good and multi-cultural, though.
Post a Comment