BARBARA WALTERS: I understand that now that you are king, you prohibited your subjects from kissing your hand. Were you embarrassed to have your hand kissed?

KING ABDULLAH: I have tremendous distaste for such matters because I believe that one only bows before one's God, not before another human being.

–cut to Obama bowing to the waist.

Nice. If Bush had done this, the Lefties would be howling. And they'd be right.

I have no disagreement with the commentary of this story, but I believe it avoids the main reason many of us are irritated by this behavior.
Our nation was born out of revolt against the tyranny of a king. Many Americans appreciate what our forefathers sacrificed to give us the liberty to no longer bow to men pretending to be gods. As such, we feel very disappointed when our elected leaders fawn over celebrities and kings.
We want our President stand tall and represent our country as a nation of free people whom no longer bow to kings. To do otherwise disrespects our heritage.
In fairness to President Obama, he is not the first elected leader to behave in this way. He just happens to be the latest example.

I think the big deal is Obama and Michelle did not bow or curtsy to the Queen of England for whom such deference is always given. The UK is our best ally whereas Saudi Arabia is like Pakistan shadey and questionable in their relationship with the US. Also why does the White House continue to deny that he bowed in the first place?

@Joe Blow: At least he's not gazing into his eyes to see his soul.

Well, at least no American President so far has went up and slapped King Abdullah's ass the way American football players do to show friendship for each other.

I don't feel that President Obama was disrespecting our heritage by bowing. As he was a guest in another country, it wasn't about him, or America, or how we're awesome. It was about respecting the traditions and etiquette of that country. Even though King Abdullah isn't a fan of the bow, he surely recognizes the attempt to be respectful. It would be like someone walking up to you and kissing your hand. You would say, "Oh! Um, we don't really do that anymore, but thanks!" And move on.

Obama is completely oblitterating 200+ years of a great country in just 3 months.

People wanted change — and they got it — Change for the WORSE.

I have been saying Toldja So before the election.

BOW to me!

This is like a bad accident. It's happening fast, seems it is unavoidable now that Obama is in charge and the results will be devestating.

When 40% of the people in this country pay no income taxes and he's about to nationalize 12-30 million criminals who have already sucked the US dry (going for a second round) the Demorats are positioning and are now in a position to completely change this country's social fabric.

I've never heard a US President claim the US was not a Christian country. Now I could understand if he said it is a country of many faiths, but he said we were a country of "citizens." Now he is wrong there because he and people like him have not protected our borders and millions in the US are not citizens. So he was wrong there to begin with.

This man is dangerous and I have no pity for those who put him in a position of power. LIke one black man on TV said the other day "Those of us who voted for Obama never saw this coming and those who did not prayed it would not." There it is in a nutshell.

Can anyone here cite an example of an American President ever bowing before a foreign sovereign, let alone a muslim potentate who won't even permit non-muslims to practice their religion in private? When Clinton made even the slightest gesture of a bow to the Emperor of Japan back in 1994, he was severely criticized in the pages of the NY Times. The lefties need to get out of protect-Obama mode, and be honest. This was inappropriate. Why he felt spontaneously compelled to bow before this disgusting pig/king, I have no idea. But it's not nothing.

Maybe all World Leaders can have some sort of secret hand shake or greeting gesture that they all do with only each other when they go visiting each other.

This would solve a lot of protocol and etiquette issues.

Maybe it could be ass slapping, or a fist bump.

@Maggie: Separation of church and state, First Amendment to the Constitution. The father's of this democratic country did not intend for it to be a Christian country.

The borders weren't protected long before he was in power. NAFTA took care of that.

40% of the people in the country aren't paying income tax because they don't have jobs.

If you are so worried about Obama becoming a tyrant, maybe you should write your local representative and express your concern about our country becoming a tyrant socialist nation. That is why we have House representatives.

The mainstream media (with few exceptions) has decided not to cover this at all. So it's a moot point. It might as well not even have happened. However, the Arab media is making much more of it, placing the image of Obama in full bow on the covers of their newspapers.

Subjects bow and knee to kings, free men stand. Some things are really that black and white (check Abdullah's comments if you believe otherwise). History has spoken to this topic before we were born, history is crystal clear on the subject, and history is unaffected by the naivete of apologists. If you represent a free people and nation, then you don't bow or knee to kings.
However, mistakes happen, we all have made them, and in the realm of possible Presidential mistakes this was on the low end. The real shame is that we have such divisiveness that people feel they need to excuse the mistake out of pride. Rather than trying to lower the bar to Obama's level, we should be encouraging him to raise to the bar.

i don't care. this is another distraction. aren't there important things going on in the world?

Obama has more important things to worry about, like getting Fidel Castro A Zune loaded with Obama singing his favorite show tunes.

Well said, Andy

uuuugh. fuuuuuuck thiiiiiiis shiiiiiiiiiiiiit.

anyone who is reading into this gesture as anything other than an awkward reaction to meeting another world leader needs to calm down.

also, cut the tyranny bullshit. in the paraphrased words of jon stewart, obama was elected democratically and anyone who doesn't want him in office was (unfortunately for them) in the minority. it's not tyranny, it's just that you lost. that's what those of us who loathed george w. bush were told for 8 years, so why dont you do something productive like Jen suggested and put democracy to work if your so pissed instead of crawling up in little balls and yelling "i told ya so! were fucked!"

This administration tries to make America look good and tries to show respect for people's cultural backgrounds (see White House seder). I never understood why people made such a big deal of Bush holding hands with The Saudi king (even though he was noticeably uncomfortable) he was trying to show respect for the man using that mans cultural mannerisms so is President Obama. We have so many real and serious issues facing our country it is almost criminal to constantly draw attention to minutia.

@getreal: If you had any manners of your own to speak of, you MIGHT have a box to stand on. You are rather a snob whith a huge ego who likes to see herself in print, probably because people flee like rabbits anytime they think you may open your mouth.

@BmoreKate: Obama wasn't in Saudi Arabia, he was in London so your arguement that we should overlook it because Obama was a guest in another country is just plain ridiculous. He (rightfully) didn't bow to the Queen of England on her home turf, so it definitely is disrespectful to America that our President would bow in a subservient mannor (knee bent, head below the chin of the king, eyes averted) to the King of Saud while in London.

@bam-a-lam: Well since you find me so unpleasant why not ignore my posts as I ignore yours. You take the wind out of your own sails when you post how awful I am but stalk around the site desperately trying to get a reaction from me. Put your money where your mouth is if you don't like my opinions don't post at me and I won't post at you. The difference between you and me is that I genuinely find you to be a bore so I avoid you. Let's see if you can stop the stalking and post at the few people on here who WANT to dialogue with you. Be well.

This post misses the entire point that conservatives are making. We're not concerned with whether the King of Saudia Arabia is offended by a bow, and we're definitely not afraid of retaliation over it (who the frak cares what the Saudis think).

The breach in this case is of AMERICAN protocol - that America, represented by our President, does not bow in submission to any king, emperor, or other other world leader that symbolizes a foreign nation.

@Jason: I understand your point but I could link you pictures of the last 7 Presidents bowing to the Japanese emperor. A ceremonial show of mutual respect is different than showing submission. We are the dominant power in the world and everyone knows that.

@Jason:

Ah, so it's a dick-measuring contest: "America does not bow in submission."

That makes MUCH more sense.

Let's worry about the war. Let's worry about the economy or any other number of important issues not how our President says hello to a world leader.

I DON'T GIVE A FUCK WHAT THE KING OF SAUDI ARABIA WANTS OR LIKES! I DO NOT WANT MY PRESIDENT BOWING TO A KING. ANY KING, QUEEN OR OTHER HEAD OF STATE! EVER!!!!!

@roger: Who sh*t in your cornflakes? Geez.

Did it bother you when Bush was holding hands with this man? This issue is unimportant. There are places in the world where shaking hands is considered unhygienic but when their leaders visit our Presidents they shake hands it's called DIPLOMACY.

@getreal: In Japanese culture, a bow is a sign of mutual respect, akin to a handshake. A mutual bow in this context (where both parties are doing the same thing) isn't the same as one where you're bowing down in submission while the king stands straight.

I've tried doing the searches for images of other US president bowing and can't find any. From the articles, there appears to have been a slight ruckus about a "bow" that Clinton gave while he was being toasted by the Japanese emperor, so I'm a bit suspect that the last 7 US Presidents have done a one-way bow to the emperor. If you can provide those links, however…

@Jason: The state department will give you links they have a public information department.

@cord: If you want to bow down to a earthly king, president, or other mere mortal as your master, feel free. I'll even let you bow before me if it makes you feel special and respectful. As for me, as the saying goes, I'd rather die on my feet than live on my knees.

@Jason: Then stop bowing down to pundits making you worry about BS. Stand on your feet and worry about our troops, our economy, our country.

@getreal: Sure, as soon as you admit that what Obama did wasn't proper or becoming of an American president, I'll drop the matter.

Somehow I just don't think that you libs can admit that the Obama-messiah is just a flawed human being after all… but feel free to suprise me.

@Jason: Well as a catholic I find the whole messiah thing very offensive and unnecessary if you don't like the President fine but you don't have to make fun of people's religion. I think if we are talking about improper conduct unbecoming of an American President I would say lying to the American people to get us behind a war that has cost us four thousand two hundred and sixty two lives most of them very young lives and over forty thousand Americans permanent maimed (limb-less, blind, etc.) is worse than momentarily bowing your head when you meet someone. But that is just me I happen to think American lives are more important than a photo-op.

@jason:

who cares? who cares that bush rubbed that german woman's shoulders? it's a misstep-if that-but i truly doubt that it's on the minds of most americans.

getreal i'm with you, if we want to talk about tragic missteps, we've got plenty to choose from. let's get them talking about the past administration they want to conveniently forget. oh yea, i forgot, that's in the past so we are forbidden to mention it, let's sweep it all under the rug cause no harm done, right?

Obama was just bowing to his king , what's the big deal?

@BP: If you really think that time to go back to school and occasionally read the newspaper.

@getreal:

Help me out. I can't find these pictures you referred to. The only thing I can find is an article in the NY Times from 1994 excoriating President Clinton for bending ever-so-slightly forward to the Emperor of Japan. What I find interesting, however, is that the Obama administration is so confident that the media will follow its lead if it simply denies he bowed. I was watching MSNBC earlier (Norah O'Donnell was interviewing Politico's Mike Allen) and they referred to the bow but didn't even show a picture, let alone the video. And the only reason they wouldn't is because they know that anyone who sees it will have no doubt that it was a deep, some might say subservient BOW.

@weezy:

You're comparing apples to oranges. And I have to point out, though, that lefties lept on every little mis-step, mispronunciation, and act of casual stupidity Bush made–and they did this while we had soldiers–rightly or wrongly–in harm's way. What do you want? New rules now that Obama is in office? But like I said elsewhere, the media has ruled on this and down the memory hole it goes. I didn't like the bow, but I still support Obama, even if the media has two standards.

@Sean Smith: I can't speak on MSNBC as I don't watch it. I watch CNN, BBC, and Fox to get my news from varied sources although I think I may start watching Rachel Maddow as she seems very well respected in the journalistic community. I told another poster you can always call the State Department or the White House for sources. Like most people who exclusively watch FOX you seem clueless when it comes to doing your OWN research. I'm starting to see how they get away with airing so many borderline facts.

@Sean Smith:
i guess i wasn't on every mis-step of bush's, nor listening to a channel that pounced on the little things. the anger i had for his administration was completely the larger issues.

i'm all for reporting on the failings of a politician, no matter what their party. it keeps them in check. but i think 'we' are getting to hung up on the small things and they are a distraction–the clothes michelle wears, if she's showing too much of her arms (i don't recall laura bush being under a microscope like michelle or even hillary) swingsets, birth certificates, parental heritage…you get the idea. it's a crisis a day. people get bogged down with these tiny outrages. save it for the big picture.

my parents weren outraged when hannity told them obama was cutting down america in a speech. i had to look up the speech on the internet and read them the part hannity edited out just to calm them down. but how often it that kind of crap get corrected? i read the comments on this site from people who quote that kind of propaganda verbatim. THAT's whats scary.

i do watch rachel maddow and i think she's entertaining in the vein of john stewart, she doesn't scream, she doesn't bully, and her reporting checks out. plus, she gets really good guests–from both sides of the aisle.

NOT bowing before a king really is a big deal and has been since John Adams represented the United States of America to the Court of King George.

It's the reason we fought the Revolution! American Presidents have never before bowed before a foreign head of state or King until this Bozo in the White House.

still not as disturbing as

not the bozo you were talking about?

@weezy: Now THAT is disturbing. Yikes.

Weezy,

Hadn't seen that picture, YUK is right. I had seen the picture of him holding his hand, (I thought it was because he was old, my bad) BUT it does appear Obama might taking the American President LOve Affair with the king one step forward, (looks like his kissing something, just saying)

Where was Michelle, why didn't she give the king a big old HUG!

@getreal

You're the one that needs to go back to school frirnd, you're incredibly naive.

@BP: At least I know how to spell friend. I guess you should go back to elementary school.

@getreal

Oh, yes I must call the white house or the state department to get the correct spin, talk about clueless. Republicans and Democrats are birds of a feather, if their lips are moving you can be sure they're lying. Corporations pull the puppets strings and it's been that way for a long, long time. While Obama did look like he was prostating himself before his king,that couldn't possibly be, communists are atheist, right? get real

Wow you are quite pessimistic if politics is all BS why are you on a political website? Your very presence here negates your argument. If it is all meaningless go do something meaningful.

@getreal

It's called a typo you idiot, maybe you should pull your head out of your communist leaders ass.

@get real

It's like Eisenhower said, beware the Military Industrial complex. I wasn't arguing by the way, just stating facts and responding to your assinine comments towards me. As far as doing something meaningful, why don't you try it some time. Ever fought for your country? Didn't think so.

@BP: I spend a large amount of my time on altruism and volunteerism and have since my teens. Maybe you should spend a little less time be presumptuous. As far as your zero worldview of nothing matters it's all bad it's boring. Why don't you spend sometime doing meaningful things that help others maybe then you would not sound so depressed and fatalistic.

Obama makes a lot of "mistakes"

@getreal

I think you actually meant "being presumptuous", which I'm not, guess you should go back to school pal. In addition, you sir have no conception of my world view, I'm a realist. Maybe one day you'll open your eyes, but generally fools like you only see what they want to see. As for boring, I agree, you are in fact a bore, and while I'm certainly not depressed in the slightest, it is sad that seemingly intelligent people like yourself, can be so incredibly naive, similar to your puppet leader Obama or for that matter, the previous puppet leader Bush, before him. Wake up and smell the coffee "friend".

@BP: You are right I meant being presumptuous. It is unfortunate that people like you feel that being depressed is realistic it isn't. Since we both agree the other is bore dialogue finished. You are just mouthing platitudes nothing you are saying is new or interesting. Yawn. Wallowing in negativity is not realistic. Being positive and working to make things better is being and that is what I try to do. What you are doing is quasi-existential masturbation. You are on your own friend I'm done.

@getreal

Like I said before, I'm a realist, While I'm enjoying my life and family, it seems to me you're the one who's depressed, and repressed, smugly spewing your snide, pointless remarks. I'm just a man who sees the truth for what it is, and takes care of his own. Do you really think you've made anything better here with your ignorant self serving commentary? You sound like nothing more than a hypocrite, it's fools exactly like you that are systematically destroying this country. In fact, I'm not on my own and nothings finished, it goes on and on, so yawn yourself to sleep little sheep. To be sure, you're the only one mouthing platitudes and I fail to see anything positive about you, you're an ignorant tool bent on pursuing your own pathetically deluded mental masturbation into oblivion. While sometimes the truth may really hurt, accepting the reality of the human condition is not wallowing in negativity. Blindly following puppet leaders, allowing yourself to be completely divorced from reality, gullibly swallowing their blatant, bold faced lies, I can assure you will most certainly have extremely negative consequences. Open your eyes, look around you, just a little bit further than the end of your nose, perhaps then you really will see, and possibly be able to make a positive contribution. It's true, history does repeat, and we've been down this road before. Sorry, no platitudes, have a cliche instead, "A word to the wise is sufficient." My friend, you've been warned, I suggest that you take heed, and take care get real.

@BP: Well said, no big words, just the truth. Your view shines through so much more than getreal's attempt at "political correctness" if you will way of speaking, proper and sterile. You speak so much more down to Earth…we can all relate! Negativity is human nature at times…certainly REALISTIC in this day and age. We all get depressed and that is natural. Happiness is fleeting at most. getreal is trying to give the impression she/he is perfect and nothing effects them. Numb, not touched.. Your beliefs are my interpretation of realistic. Thanks for making me pause and think….No offense getreal, but you are so sure you are correct, you refuse to see any one's side but your own. You are passionate about your convictions, but try to be kinder to someone with a different perspective…just my humble, yet thought provoking point, perhaps? Peace to all….:)

"Blindly following puppet leaders, allowing yourself to be completely divorced from reality, gullibly swallowing their blatant, bold faced lies, I can assure you will most certainly have extremely negative consequences."

well, i think #58 is smug and condescending, so to each their own. i assume you were choking while swallowing the lies and deceit of the past 8 years?

even tho i obviously don't agree with everyone on these posts, i respect their right to have their own opinions.