So the latest word is that the White House is denying that President Obama bowed to King Abdullah of Saudia Arabia.
QUOTE:
"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 [SOURCE].
Nice try, but no. Let's take a look at a still of the action in question:
The president is so low that he could kiss King Abdullah's hand if he wanted to.
The key thing, though, is to look at the levels of their respective heads. If you're just leaning over to take the hand (two-handedly or one-handedly; doesn't matter) of someone who is shorter than you, you don't need your head to go below theirs.
Take it from me. I'm a square dancer. I have to adjust to the height of lady dancers who are a fraction of my height all the time. I may have to bend a bit to swing them or promenade with them or whatnot, but at no time does my head go below theirs, no matter how short they are. (Some are well below five feet tall.)
Saying the above represents a bend to get at the king's hand so it can be grasped is just laughable.
A better excuse would have been to say that he was instinctively bending over to tie his shoe and then realized, “Hey, the king’s hand is right in front of my face. I better shake it and tie my shoe later.”
Is it just me, or does it kinda look like Obama’s about to genuflect? It looks like He’s about to go down on one knee. And what’s everybody looking at? There must have been something fascinating in the center of the group.
A sad reflection of US dependence on Saudi oil and selling them US weapons.
Ever heard of fealty? Perhaps old habits die hard!
Perhaps the group is looking down at the American pride “our” president just threw on the floor.
Miss Manners on the protocol: Americans do not bow to foreign monarchs because that act signified the monarch’s power over his subjects.
He didn’t do this to the queen of England. But to the Saudi king?
Hmmm….very telling.
I like the expression of the guy to the left of it all: What the…oh, heck.
Give the guy a break, it’s not like he kissed the Koran.
I was wondering when you might show up, Jeb. How very predictable.
Interesting to see you defending Obama, though. Anti-Catholicism makes strange bedfellows, alright.
It looks to me like President Obama dropped his cuff link.
With that back leg bent, it looks more like the President is curtsying!
nothing different than Bush holding hands with the saudi king either. http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/bush_hand_holding.jpg
one day people will realize that it’s not the right against the left anymore. it’s more them against us.
peace.
Tim,
I’m not defending Obama.
-J. Prot.
Sure seems like it, Jeb.
Jeb wasn’t defending Obama; as usual, he was picking up any stick to bash the Church with.
“nothing different than Bush holding hands with the saudi king either. ”
A bow, eli, is a sign of submission; holding hands is not. That seems like a significant difference to me.
A bow may be a sign of any number of things, including an acknowledgment of the admiration one may be receiving. And regardless of whether it’s perceived as signifying submission to some, it’s not necessarily performed as an act of submission (end of game) as much perhaps as a method of social manipulation (continuing to play the game).
Isn’t the issue not so much about whether or not a bow is a significant and inappropriate act on Obama’s part, but why the white house is so obviously attempting to lie about it? Isn’t that the point of the original post?
The administration is overreacting by trying to cover for it. Following a country’s local customs is pretty standard in most foreign policy. If Abdullah had come to the U.S., they probably would have shook hands. If they were in Japan, there would have been a bow. If they were in Africa (and I think this has happened before, with both Obama and Bush), there would have been dancing and chanting. They would have done better to just say “Yeah, he bowed, that’s what you do in Arabian countries” and dropped it.
Don’t fret yourselves; Obama is as much a puppet of AIPAC as previous presidents.