Well-informed, well-thought out criticism of an elected official should be encouraged. But when our President bows to a country's emporer and it sparks political outrage because the action supposedly symbolizes America as "soft," "weak," or showing too much deference, I think it's safe to say we have a serious insecurity complex."I don't know why President Obama thought that was appropriate. Maybe he thought it would play well in Japan. But it's not appropriate for an American president to bow to a foreign one," said conservative pundit William Kristol speaking on the Fox News Sunday program, adding that the gesture bespoke a United States that has become weak and overly-deferential under Obama.
Another conservative voice, Bill Bennett, said on CNN's "State of the Union" program: "It's ugly. I don't want to see it."
"We don't defer to emperors. We don't defer to kings or emperors. The president of the United States -- this coupled with so many apologies from the United States -- is just another thing," said Bennett.
Some conservative critics juxtaposed the image of Obama with one of former US vice president Dick Cheney, who greeted the emperor in 2007 with a firm handshake but no bow.
More cultural concern over America's so-called decline into "soft" politics -- code words for American feminization. Oh so scary (sarcasm). So Obama demonstrates cultural awareness and doesn't impose Western gestures (handshakes) as the only appropriate form of a greeting ritual. Really, our president should not hold any degree of cultural relativism when interacting with foreign leaders?
Nah, I guess we should "stand tall" and have everyone look up to us as THE model for global politics because we're the ONLY country who does it right (more sarcasm).
No wonder so many people hate Americans.
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you know perfectly well that the properly manly way of dealing with a Japanese PM is to barf on him, like G.H.W Bush did in his days!
ReplyDeleteAh hahahahaha...I forgot about that!
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