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11-17-2009, 04:49 AM

Quote:
Originally Posted by clintjm View Post
The news from the acutal fox news article is Obama bowed and why this was thought by many to be wrong in his capacity of president of the USA. They got scholars on the matter to give their opinion (President of the Protocol School of Washington) just as any news agency has to give as to why they quote "leaving some critics fuming".
There is no "I fox news" think anything.
When you say "thought by many" you mean "thought by many people who make a living being critical of the president". I don't think most Americans would look at that and think anything was wrong unless they were told.

Here's the FOX News article I am looking at:

Obama Draws Fire for Bow to Japanese Emperor - FOXNews.com

President Obama's deep bow to Japanese Emperor Akihito on Saturday may not have violated any official protocol, but critics of the presidential act of deference nevertheless say he's guilty of bad form.

In other words, he didn't actually break any protocol, but we are going to harp on it anyway, and we have a gaggle of talking heads who will back us up.

Pamela Eyring, the president of The Protocol School of Washington, said that while there's no "hard-and-fast" rule, a bow is not appropriate when national leaders meet.

Now, we know that when meeting someone in Japan, a bow is very appropriate. Again, mixing up the Japanese bow with the Western notion of "bowing down".

"They're peers. ... Unfortunately, it isn't correct for a chief of state to bow to another chief of state," she told FoxNews.com. "It's not appropriate. He should not be bowing to other chiefs of state."

No, Obama is peers with the prime minister. The emperor and his wife are royalty. That is a different position, as he is also a religious leader (Shinto) whose blood line has represented the people of Japan for thousands of years. Not exactly peers in the same way. As Tenchu said, he is an older gentleman and our president is visiting him in his home and his country.

Quote:
Originally Posted by clintjm View Post

You are of course correct its not incorrect for a greeting for someone in Japan. Everyone knows this. But it is for a head of state in an official capactity, according to protocol is is incorrect. Because as the leader of a nation, the president is representing all of the people of the nation he serves. For him to bow represents many things to many different people. As a leader of a foriegn nation it is improper protocol.
According to FOX News it didn't go against protocol and there are no "hard and fast" rules.

Explain how President Obama misrepresented you by bowing his head to the emperor.
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