U.S. should bow to no one, not even a king
Chicago Sun Times - April 10, 2009 - BY STEVE HUNTLEY
Chicago Sun Times - April 10, 2009 - BY STEVE HUNTLEY
Did he or didn't he? Did President Obama bow to Saudi King Abdullah at the G-20 meeting in London? That question is creating a bit of a dust-up in the blogosphere. The brouhaha reminds me of the tsk-tsking a few years back when President George W. Bush was photographed holding hands with then-Crown Prince Abdullah.
I'm uncomfortable with images of hand-holding and something that looks like a bow. But let's face it -- no one would be bowing, holding hands or in other ways showering obsequious shows of respect on this monarch if Saudi Arabia weren't sitting on the world's largest reserves of oil. We're going to be fawning over these potentates so long as we're guzzling oil.
That said, the president of the United States does not bow to kings. He is not only the chief of government, he's our head of state -- the equal of any monarch. The White House says Obama didn't bow, that he "grasped (Abdullah's) hand with two hands and he's taller than King Abdullah."
Sorry, but a videotape on YouTube doesn't quite back that up. Obama clearly bends his body toward the Arabian monarch, and Obama doesn't grasp both the king's hands until he's standing straight up. As for the he's-taller argument, the 6-foot-1-inch Obama towers over a lot of people, so we'd have seen him bowing during handshakes many times if that were the explanation. Furthermore, the king had his hand extended, so Obama didn't have to reach down an inordinate amount to grab it.
Obama's conservative critics are having none of the White House explanation. "Absurd" is the Weekly Standard's word for it. The Washington Times said Obama made a "servile gesture" that "belittled the power and independence of the United States."
Weighing in on the side of it-was-a-bow was a columnist in a Saudi newspaper who wrote Obama "wished to demonstrate his respect and appreciation of the personality of King Abdullah."
What could give this issue legs is that it conforms to the view of his critics that the president spent too much time on his European tour seeming to apologize for America. His defenders respond that Obama needed to do some fence-mending. We could argue about this all day, as is the case with the videotape of the "bow." (continues....)
I'm uncomfortable with images of hand-holding and something that looks like a bow. But let's face it -- no one would be bowing, holding hands or in other ways showering obsequious shows of respect on this monarch if Saudi Arabia weren't sitting on the world's largest reserves of oil. We're going to be fawning over these potentates so long as we're guzzling oil.
That said, the president of the United States does not bow to kings. He is not only the chief of government, he's our head of state -- the equal of any monarch. The White House says Obama didn't bow, that he "grasped (Abdullah's) hand with two hands and he's taller than King Abdullah."
Sorry, but a videotape on YouTube doesn't quite back that up. Obama clearly bends his body toward the Arabian monarch, and Obama doesn't grasp both the king's hands until he's standing straight up. As for the he's-taller argument, the 6-foot-1-inch Obama towers over a lot of people, so we'd have seen him bowing during handshakes many times if that were the explanation. Furthermore, the king had his hand extended, so Obama didn't have to reach down an inordinate amount to grab it.
Obama's conservative critics are having none of the White House explanation. "Absurd" is the Weekly Standard's word for it. The Washington Times said Obama made a "servile gesture" that "belittled the power and independence of the United States."
Weighing in on the side of it-was-a-bow was a columnist in a Saudi newspaper who wrote Obama "wished to demonstrate his respect and appreciation of the personality of King Abdullah."
What could give this issue legs is that it conforms to the view of his critics that the president spent too much time on his European tour seeming to apologize for America. His defenders respond that Obama needed to do some fence-mending. We could argue about this all day, as is the case with the videotape of the "bow." (continues....)
1 comment:
The Queen of England is shorter that the Saudi king, and Obama didn't bow to her like this. Well she was just a woman, so he doesn't think he needs to show much respect. And Michelle broke protocol by not only touching but putting her arm around the Queen. Buddy buddy, some royals get no respect.
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