U.S. conservatives: Obama bowed too deeply to Emperor

WASHINGTON (AP) Some American conservative commentators are seizing on President Barack Obama's deep bow to Emperor Akihito over the weekend, accusing the U.S. commander in chief of groveling to a foreign leader.

Bow row: U.S. President Barack Obama bows Saturday while greeting Emperor Akihito at the Imperial Palace. AP PHOTO

Obama greeted the Emperor, whose father ruled when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941, with a simultaneous handshake and nearly 90-degree bow, sparking furious online commentary, much of it negative.

Obama's gesture Saturday was not without precedent, however. Neither was the outrage.

Presidents from both political parties often have been criticized for attempts at culturally sensitive greetings to high-ranking foreigners.

George W. Bush, a Republican, was mocked for holding Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah's hand, a traditional sign of friendship in the Middle East, as they strolled together in 2005.

In 1994, Bill Clinton was criticized for almost bowing to the Emperor. The resulting image, The New York Times wrote, was of "an obsequent president and the emperor of Japan."

Richard Nixon, a Republican, can be seen in a Life magazine photo from 1971 bowing to Emperor Hirohito, known posthumously as Emperor Showa, the current Emperor's father.

Obama's awkward encounter with the Emperor — bows are not meant to accompany physical contact — is not even the first time the president, a Democrat in office less than a year, has been criticized for his greeting of a foreign leader: Critics accused him of genuflecting to Saudi King Abdullah at a world economic summit this year.

The current row comes during a highly charged political time in the United States. Conservatives are strongly opposing Obama's policies, especially his plan to overhaul the health care system, and they have seized on any perceived stumble by the president to support their message on talk radio and in blogs.

An online video posted by the University of Connecticut College Republicans juxtaposes a series of upright handshakes between the Emperor and other world leaders with Obama's low bow.

Andrew Malcolm, in a blog published on The Los Angeles Times Web site, asks: "How low will the new American president go for the world's royalty?"

Obama's bow was compared with photos of Vice President Dick Cheney giving the Emperor a straight-backed handshake, and Gen. Douglas MacArthur standing with his hands on his hips next to Emperor Showa.

State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters Monday the bow was "a sign of respect to the Emperor."

In an online State Department posting from 2007 titled "Protocol for the Modern Diplomat," envoys are advised to be aware of greeting rituals such as kisses, handshakes or bows and to follow a country's tradition. "Failure to abide with tradition may be interpreted as rudeness or a lack of respect for colleagues," it says. It was not clear whether the guidelines apply to the president.

The furor over the bow also shows how delicate any trip by Obama would be to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the cities destroyed by U.S. atomic bombs at the end of World War II. Obama has said he wants to visit the cities sometime during his presidency.