Commentary by Daniel Mallock

This deep bow to the Emperor of Japan by the President of the United States is a display of deep respect in Japanese culture, but is completely inappropriate.
 
Obama’s purpose appears to be the total opposite of Reagan’s; the destruction of the concept of American exceptionalism and power. The Obama nightmare presidency is a seachange moment in American history as we have never had an anti-American in the White House prior to this.
 
Every action of sycophancy and subservience to foreign leaders that Obama does plays well in the liberal countries of Europe but is a total disaster here at home. The American President does not owe displays of deference to the Saudi king, the Emperor of Japan, nor any foreign leader; American presidents prior to the current resident of the White House interacted with foreign leaders as co-equals. Obama’s apparent purpose is the diminishment of the United States at home and abroad; it’s an extraordinary and shocking thing to see as it is unprecedented in our history.
 
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/11/obama-emperor-akihito-japan.html
 
The liberals in Europe who love this debasement of the United States even as we support and protect them do not seem to grasp that the EU itself exists solely because of American military power. If there were no American military protections for Western Europe there could not be a massive welfare state there.
 
The diminishment of the United States at home and abroad can only have disastrous consequences for the world. What this means is that there is no defender of freedom any longer. Former presidents in recent memory have spoken of “the American century.” There is no longer discussion of such things.
 
This is nothing short of a purposeful diminishment of US power and prestige so that supranational organizations like the UN can lead in international affairs. It is irrelevant to Obama and his sycophant supporters that none of the organizations function correctly or are friendly to the United States.
 
Bowing to the Emperor of Japan is a deep insult to the living veterans of WW2 and to the memory of our fallen heroes of that war. We have previously called the WW2 generation “the greatest generation”. Now, they are apparently something very much more commonplace, just another set of heroes for our supranationalist president to insult and negate.
 
I challenge any reader of this site to refute this argument, and provide an alternative explanation for our current situation. I suspect that all I will receive is a great silence, similar to the great silence of the “moderate Muslim” community in response to the jihad attack/massacre at Fort Hood.

(posted by Atlas Shrugs)

Note that the Emperor does not reciprocate and bow to Obama, this is loss of face for Obama and the United States because Obama is the president. I’d think that Obama is entirely ignorant of this most likely unintentional slight on the part of the powerless Emperor of Japan. I would think that because protocol is so important in Japanese culture they never expected Obama to deeply bow to the Emperor, or even to bow at all.

In addition, the correct process of bowing in Japan is to put both hands at your sides then bow at the waste and keep eye contact with the person to whom you are bowing. Shaking hands and simultaneously bowing is an error of etiquette on the part of Mr. Obama.