Obama & the King: We Might All Be Bowing Soon
April 11, 2009 by Rick Koerber
Filed under Politics, Rick's Most Recent Posts
So, it disturbs me that the President of the United States would undeniably and intentionally bow to Saudi King Abdullah. Showing fealty to a foreign potentate is problematic for me, and it would be no matter which “royalty” was involved. But, to be completely honest, Barack Obama’s actions aren’t all the surprising. What is interesting to me, however, is what most of us probably missed when we first heard the story!
There is something much more noteworthy about this whole affair, so widely reported across print, broadcast and web media. As usual, the nonsense is what draws most of our attention, and the deeper substantive questions about tangible, practical implications of abusive executive behavior just slide by, whisper like.
Let me get to my point. When asked directly, about the bow, the White House press secretary officially responded by answering, incredulously,
No, I think he bent over…with both hands to shake his hand.
Okay. So, you might be thinking, “Alright, Rick, this isn’t news, I already heard that.” Alright, but let’s put a few pieces together to pain a picture that you might not have thought much about.
Piece #1 – Did the President Bow?
Of course. Watch the video. He bows at the waist. He uses one hand, pauses respectfully at the bottom of the bow, just for a short second before lifting himself, and then smiles and verbally greats the Saudi King.
Piece #2. Is the President’s bow significant?
Obviously, it depends on whose asking. But, to the large majority of the human population, bowing isn’t something done on accident. In an April 7th editorial the Washington Times poignantly explains,
Symbolism is important in world affairs. By bending over to show greater respect to Islam, the U.S. president belittled the power and independence of the United States. The bow was an extraordinary protocol violation. Such an act is a traditional obeisance befitting a king’s subjects, not his peer. There is no precedent for U.S. presidents bowing to Saudi or any other royals…Mr. Obama’s bow to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques does not help his image with those who believe he is secretly a Muslim, and why he chose to bow only to the Saudi King and not to any other royals remains unexplained.
No Americans of any station are required to bow to royalty. It is one of the pillars of American exceptionalism that our country rejected traditional caste divisions. Article I Section 9 of the Constitution forbids titles of nobility and stipulates that no officeholder or government employee may “accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state” without the consent of Congress. Judith Martin wrote in her Miss Manners column in 2001 that bowing “is not an ordinary bit of foreign etiquette one might adopt out of courtesy when traveling. … Americans do not properly bow to any royalty. We show respect for other countries’ leaders the same way we do to our own.” (emphasis added)
In addition to the American commentary on the President’s “bending over” act, Muslim commentary also suggested it was more than insignificant.
Piece #3. Why deny it?
Answering this question requires speculation, since the official answers are obviously less than genuine. But, suffice it to say that, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was unprepared for the question. It’s doubtful, if he had been prepared, that is answer would have been so indignantly sarcastic when questions persisted. His attitude, revealed during this ordeal, is actually a telling indicator of the kind and caliber of ideas floating around in the “inside circle” of President Barack Obama. Lest anyone question that Obama’s team share the same nonsensical contempt for an American reporter’s desire for an honest explanation, another White House aide responded dopily (BTW: I know that’s not really a word),
“It wasn’t a bow. He grasped his hand with two hands, and he’s taller than King Abdullah.”
Anyone who bothered to watch the video can easily see that this buffoon had no idea what the facts actually were. But, herein lies the POINT!
No one in the White House really seems to care what the American people “think!” Oh, they’re concerned with how we’re all “feeling,” especially during these economic hard times. But, when someone turns his or her brain on and starts to think (i.e., asking obvious questions about the President’s deliberate act of fealty which he reserved for Muslim royalty, leaving the job of ‘hugging’ Christian royalty to his wife), the insiders at the White House have contempt for the very question. Remember Joe the Plumber?
This whole “President bending over” ordeal reminds me of a comedy I watched as a kid where a belligerent cheating husband was caught by his wife—in the act—with another woman. After the immediacy of the controversy boiled over, in this B rate-early 1980′s comedy, the husband later approaches his wife and asks, “Honey, why are you so upset?” Beside herself, she berates him immediately, describing very clearly what she had witnessed. In the heat of the moment the man interrupts his upset wife and with his best innocent face asks, “What are you talking about? He goes on to insist, “That is NOT what was going on, I did no such thing.” The wife is so taken back by his insane denial that she is momentarily speechless, and to hurry up and fill the gap, the husband continues to deny that “anything actually happened.” The absurdity made this scene, rather comical. Illustrating how obnoxious arrogant men can be when they actually have contempt for the thinking judgments of other people. It was comical precisely because his behavior was so absurd.
In America today, the ‘comedy of the absurd‘ being broadcast from the White House by the now popular cast has reached a new low. While all of the administrations for the last two decades have been full of this kind of thing, none has sunk so deep and so absurdly low as to effectively look each of us Americans in the eye and say, “That’s not what happened. I know you saw it, but you don’t know what you saw, let me tell you what you saw.” (Note: Funny thing is that their answer to foreigners is quite different – but that is another story.)
Don’t think for a minute that all of this comical blundering was an accident. It is in small moments of high stress and unpredictable situations that penetrating glimpses into reality can allow honest observers the chance to see what is really going on behind the curtains. Barack Obama’s most consistent answer to us “average onlookers” is that, what really goes on behind his new White House curtains, is quite simply, “None of your business.”
Of course its not—and unfortunately it is becoming increasingly so. Wake up my friends, and turn your brains on! But, don’t expect any encouragement from our dominate political powers. They’d just as soon prefer that you kept napping while a new blueprint is drawn up for a new “America” of the 21st century.
So, just keep napping, and when you awake, we might all be bowing.
