Wednesday, April 08, 2009

To bow or not to bow, that is the question?



White House says it wasn't a bow (at 53 seconds), the President is just tall. Earlier, he also did a slight bow to the Queen of England:



Of course, he's way-taller than her as well. But, no, I'd say the that was a full-fledged bow to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. Well, maybe it'll keep the gas prices low.

12 comments:

Perpetua said...

Over at Little Green Footballs, audit81 made the following observation:

"Obama was merely bending over to read the teleprompter on the floor."

Jody Howard said...

Definitely a bow. Didn't we fight some wars so Americans wouldn't do that any more? And personally, I could have stomached it a lot more had it been directed at the Queen.

Pageantmaster said...

From at least the eighteenth century on gentlemen have always bowed or nodded to ladies and others, if you know your Jane Austen, many still do. If you watch carefully in the pictures all sorts of people nod to each other, including the King of Saudi Arabia.

Both President and Mrs Obama came across as elegant, charming and courteous and left a very good impression of your country.

anonymous said...

The King of Saudi Arabia paid for Obama's campaign.



Obama's bow symbolized the delivery of the once-greatest power on earth into the Arab King's (and OSB's) hands.

Rick Arllen said...

Mr. Obama does not disappoint. He will not be satisfied until the United States grovels at the foot of every despot on Earth. Yes, it most certainly was a bow. And the White House response was pure bovine scatology. I would expect nothing less.

anonymous said...

I meant OBL, not OSB.

Anonymous said...

I think maybe there was some crude oil on the floor...

Allen said...

Well that cleared THAT up. We are now (as if we never knew) serfs of Saudi Arabia. Thanks for the confirmation by your sell-out Mr. Obama.

John said...

I remember President Bush kissing the Saudi king and walking hand in hand with him on a visit to midland.

See http://www.americablog.com/2009/04/why-is-bush-permitted-to-kiss-man-but.html

Lighten up folks. Everyone was just trying to be respectful and friendly.

Allen said...

Respectful?

More like subservient judging from the depth and exaggeration of that bow from the waist. Please.

Kevin said...

I'm definitely a full-fledge American, because I really don't care if it was or was not a bow, because it's meaningless to me.

If it was a bow, I'd chalk it up to a respectful gesture, something driven by love more than duty.

If it was not a bow, than I'd say, well, Obama is our American President and technically they should bow to him since we're the ones with the military power but we don't demand such gestures from the world.

To the Brits, this would be all important, but I'm an American who is descendant from ones who help throw off British rule, but long enough ago that all this stuff is just plain silly to me.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I agree. Enough of this graciousness and humility already. Let's go back to the good ole days of demonstrating American arrogance and superiority the way a "Christian" country should!

Joe+