There he goes again, bowing to a foreign head of state – this time not the Saudi King but the Emperor of Japan, who has the good sense to look slightly embarrassed.

Since the emperor bows to no one, the Community Organizer’s gesture of subservience went unreciprocated.

No doubt every blogger in the universe will be talking about the bow and what it does or doesn’t mean, but let me add this little story from the Kennedy administration for flavor. This comes from Thomas Lifson, who is editor and publisher of American Thinker.

“Before the Kennedy's first state visit to England, Jacqueline Kennedy asked Duke whether she should curtsy to the Queen. He told her no because she was the wife of the head of state and heads of state and their wives do not go around bowing and curtsying to one another.

“Three years later, after her husband's funeral, Mrs. Kennedy received guests in the White House family quarters. When Prince Philip greeted her, she curtsied to him. Duke was surprised because Mrs. Kennedy was a stickler for protocol and had a steel trap memory for such things. Noting his surprise, Mrs. Kennedy whispered to him:

"Angie, I'm no longer the wife of a head of state."

“Duke said he immediately left the room and wept.”

Get that? Heads of state do not go around bowing and curtsying to each other – until we get to the Community Organizer, who, in what has become his typical George Jefferson “Movin’ on Up” mode, has taken it upon himself to not only apologize to the entire world for the success of the United States, but to bowing and scraping to their leaders as well.

The “scraping” refers to moving the leg back, as Dear Leader did when bowing and scraping before the Saudi King.



It’s utterly disgusting.

Here’s more from Lifson:

“There is no question that an unreciprocated bow is a gesture of subservience. Bowing is a very serious matter in many cultures. I have counseled hundreds of Western executives on the intricacies of bowing when dealing with Japanese business executives, stressing that an unreciprocated bow is a rude gesture of dominance. The body language is clear and unmistakable in all cultures.”

When Dear Leader bowed to the Saudi King, here’s what Abe Greenwald wrote in Commentary:

“Among Muslim democrats and human rights advocates, utter dejection that the "leader of the Free World" has offered himself as a "subject" of the Saudi monarch; among Islamists, bliss over America's seeming prostration before Salafist Islam; among international bad actors, assurance that America poses no threat; and among our allies, depression about the new systemic instability of the most dependable superpower in history.”

And if you’re wondering how the rest of the world leaders greeted the Emperor of Japan, check this HotAir blog – there are photos of all the rest of the leaders, without exception, shaking hands with the Emperor. It was Dear Leader alone who bowed in subservience. http://hotairpundit.blogspot.com/2009/11/president-obama-vs-rest-of-world.html

What’s wrong with the now-standard and uniquely American handshake as a form of greeting?

The handshake as a gesture of acknowledgement and welcome was established by the Quakers – the Society of Friends – which began in 17th century England with George Fox, and best remembered in the US for William Penn, one of Fox’s personal followers, the man who founded the State of Pennsylvania.

After narrowly escaping execution in England for treason – anyone who preached anything other than Church of England doctrines was considered a traitor -- Penn negotiated a deal with England’s Charles II to take over land in the Colonies where Penn and his Friends could live free from persecution. In Pennsylvania, the Friends could live and worship as they chose, free from compulsion to bow to anyone. Egalitarianism among humans – between men and women as well, which was also unique – and showing subservience before G-d alone was one of the basic Quaker doctrines. On principle, the Quakers didn’t bow to anyone other than the Creator.

Needless to say, in England, that religious idiosyncrasy frequently got them into serious trouble. During all the decades of persecution of the Society of Friends, many were imprisoned for just that – refusing to bow, which was interpreted as a lack of respect. For men, bowing – for women, curtseying -- was the standard form of greeting until the Quaker’s uniquely American democratic upright handshake was adopted instead.

More than bowing, a standing upright handshake – indicating the lack of weapons as well as welcome – became the traditional form of greeting between equals.

But what’s happening now? That yahoo in the White House is running around the globe bowing and scraping to dictators, tyrants, terrorists and now and then just a plain old emperor.

I’m just trying to figure out how much more trouble this idiot is going to get the world into before the voters can get rid of him in 2012.