Presidential visits are so carefully calibrated that they are more or less planned out second by second. Every potential protocol issue is discussed at length, including the most mundane. Gift exchanges, the duration of meals, the type of food served, etc.

A Korean colleague of mine brought up a good point earlier today: Obama's action has set a precedent. Obama's "low bow" to the emperor will be the baseline by which other greetings in other countries where bowing is a sign of respect. Will he bow to the South Korean head of state? How has he greeted other Japanese politicians?

So the question is this - considering the amount of detail that goes into these high profile visits, either one of two possibilities emerge:

1. The bow was intentional. If so, the Obama team is consciously projecting an image of respect - either for foreign cultures as a whole or Japanese culture in particular. It is likely that the bow itself was practiced. The low bow was a purposeful choice and other options, like a "short" bow or handshake without a bow were discarded.

2. The bow was accidental or improvised. Either the President got nervous and greeted the emperor in a way that was not rehearsed or he decided at the last minute to "go rogue". Perhaps Obama's handlers wanted him to shake hands to remain straight backed to project an image of American power or superiority and he vetoed it at the last minute. In this case, the bow was a personal decision. One can then either look at it as proof of Obama's youthful naivete or his profound respect and curiosity for global cultures.

Interesting stuff to chew on, and the right-wing is completely missing the point.

joshuarobert144,

How's the right-wing missing the point? Perhaps some of the commentary is over the top, but those criticisms fall along the same lines as the two possibilities you describe. 1) An unpresidential projection of respect and/or 2) youthful naivete, neither of which are usually considered positives.

As over fifty years of positive U.S.-Japan relations suggest, seems to me that it's possible for American presidents, not to mention other heads of state, to project respect to the emperor without bowing (not to mention the fact that U.S. citizens, particularly U.S. presidents, are never to bow to royalty). Perhaps he was trying to demonstrate his international background--he is the first Pacific president after all--but whatever the intent, he looked like a joke, and I'd wish he save his personal curiosity for local cultures for visits to Japanese restaurants.

(Yes, Bush held hands with the Saudi king and that was awkward and painful, but so what? Since when is Bush's behavior the new standard? I propose a good rule of thumb for Obama apologists (talking to you FP): when you defend him or his administration by citing a similar action by Bush, you've already lost the argument.)

It's also possible that his simply team screwed up and gave him bad advice, though you'd think that after so many previous protocol/diplomatic missteps (to name a few: DVDs to Brown, Ipod to the queen, Euro missile defense announcement on the anniversary of Soviet invasion of Poland, not attending Berlin Wall celebrations but lobbying for Olympics in Chicago in-person, etc.), his people would've been brushed up on history and local customs. Isn't there a U.S. embassy in Tokyo?

"An unpresidential projection of respect"
"...it's possible for American presidents, not to mention other heads of state, to project respect to the emperor without bowing"
"U.S. citizens, particularly U.S. presidents, are never to bow to royalty"

Those three gems seem to reinforce joshuarobert144's notion that the far right is missing the point.

For one, how is it unpresidential to project respect for the legitimate leaders of our allied countries? They are not our minions.

Second, you have it backwards: Our long and favorable friendship means we should endeavor even further to show them our respect. On holidays, people tend not do something special for strangers and passing acquaintances; for friends, we make uncommon efforts to show appreciation. The same principle applies here for the same reasons.

Third, bowing before the Japanese royalty, whether you're non-Japanese(and why does it matter if the citizen is from the U.S.? Are we somehow superior?) or the U.S. president is not a gesture of submission or inferiority, as you seem to absurdly imply. As they observe our laws or customs when they visit us, so too should we observe theirs. They will seek to treat us as we treat them.

Finally, if one is so concerned with the U.S. asserting dominance, why care for insubstantial symbolics?

This obsession the right has with projecting strength and dominance is disconnected from common social realities. One does not dominate nor court favor by behaving poorly, neither in person, nor on a world stage.

BJ's Restaurants links of london . Management might be tempted to belly up and drown cheap links of london their sorrows, links of london jewellery since the majority of this chain's 89 restaurants are in links of london jewelry deep-recession states like California, Arizona, links of london sale and Florida. links london But the company's homemade ales, links london jewelry Chicago-style pizza, link of london Olive Garden. links of london Charms More food for less money hits the sweet spot these days, links of london Charm which makes the family-style portions at this casual Italian chain a hit with diners. links of london Necklaces Olive Garden is a division of Darden Restaurants, links london Necklace which also operates Red Lobster, links of london Bracelets Longhorn Steakhouse, links london Bracelet and a few smaller chains. links of london Sweetie Bracelets Olive Garden has been the best performer of the bunch, links london Sweetie Bracelet with same-store sales down slightly but overall sales up, links of london Friendship Bracelets thanks to about 35 new outlets that have opened over the past year. links london Friendship Bracelet That helped boost overall earnings for the company by 15 percent in the most recent quarter links of london Sweetie Watches

links of london specialises in quality handcrafted designer stering silver jewelry, links of london Shop provides hundreds of discount, cheap and links of london
links of london Bracelet
links of london friednship
Links of London, the leading British contemporary jeweller was founded in 1990 by jewellery designer Annoushka Ducas and her husband John Ayton. Excellent craftsmanship, generous tactile forms and the use of the finest materials remain integral to each collection.
links of london store
links of london
tiffany jewellery
links of london Charms