In case you missed it, the President of the United States bowed to the Emperor of Japan. The bow was deep and measured. The President’s opponents were aghast and claimed no President should ever bow to anyone, let alone the Emperor of Japan.
In response to the outcry, the President said, “I’m representing the United States of America. And we’re talking about a friend, and we’re talking about an ally. We’re talking about a nation with whom we have constructive relationships. Sure, we got some problems, but that was all overriding — and respect for the Emperor.”
Now, before we fast forward to the present, I should explain that the president who committed the act and I quoted above was George H.W. Bush and he was bowing to the body of the Emperor Hirohito, the man who was Emperor of Japan during World War II, at the Emperor’s funeral. President Bush was shot out of the air by the Japanese during that war, so he felt the pain of that era as acutely as anyone.
President Obama bowed to the current Emperor of Japan, Emperor Akihito, on Saturday and his opponents went red in the face with disgust, too.
One of those voicing outrage was conservative pundit William Kristol who said, “I don’t know why President Obama thought that was appropriate. Maybe he thought it would play well in Japan. But it’s not appropriate for an American president to bow to a foreign one.” He went on to add that the gesture bespoke a United States that has become weak and overly-deferential under Obama.
It should be noted that Kristol served as chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle when President Bush bowed to the dead Emperor. Kristol kept his outrage bottled up back then, or perhaps his memory is failing because he went on to say, “I’ll bet if you look at pictures of world leaders over 20 years meeting the emperor in Japan, they don’t bow.” Whoops. OK, President Bush did not meet with the Emperor, Bush attended his funeral and bowed to show his respect to the man in charge when we were at war with Japan. President Nixon, however, can be seen in a Life magazine photo from 1971 bowing to a living Emperor Hirohito.
William Bennett who was Secretary of Education in the Reagan years (incidentally, Kristol served as his chief of staff at the DoE) and was a “Drug Czar” in the Bush (41) Administration, had this to say about the Obama bow to CNN”s John King, “”It’s ugly. I don’t want to see it…We don’t defer to emperors. We don’t defer to kings or emperors. The president of the United States – this coupled with so many apologies from the United States — is just another thing.”
Kristol and Bennett are right to be embarrassed, but not because President Obama used a customary Japanese greeting when meeting the Emperor and Empress of Japan. President Obama showed that the United States is capable of showing kindness and respect to our neighbors in the world. Kristol and Bennett should be ashamed. They could overlook Nixon’s and Bush’s acts, but not Obama’s? Kristol and Bennett’s 2009 statements juxtaposed to the absence of statements in 1989 represent nothing more than a partisan hack job.
This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register blog entry.
Top Photo: US President Barack Obama (L) bows as he shakes hands with Japanese Emperor Akihito (C) and as Empress Michiko (R) looks on upon Obama's arrival at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on November 14. (Courtesy AFB, 2009)
Bottom photo: President Richard Nixon bows to Japanese Emperor Hirohito in 1971. (Courtesy Life Magazine)
In response to the outcry, the President said, “I’m representing the United States of America. And we’re talking about a friend, and we’re talking about an ally. We’re talking about a nation with whom we have constructive relationships. Sure, we got some problems, but that was all overriding — and respect for the Emperor.”
Now, before we fast forward to the present, I should explain that the president who committed the act and I quoted above was George H.W. Bush and he was bowing to the body of the Emperor Hirohito, the man who was Emperor of Japan during World War II, at the Emperor’s funeral. President Bush was shot out of the air by the Japanese during that war, so he felt the pain of that era as acutely as anyone.President Obama bowed to the current Emperor of Japan, Emperor Akihito, on Saturday and his opponents went red in the face with disgust, too.
One of those voicing outrage was conservative pundit William Kristol who said, “I don’t know why President Obama thought that was appropriate. Maybe he thought it would play well in Japan. But it’s not appropriate for an American president to bow to a foreign one.” He went on to add that the gesture bespoke a United States that has become weak and overly-deferential under Obama.
It should be noted that Kristol served as chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle when President Bush bowed to the dead Emperor. Kristol kept his outrage bottled up back then, or perhaps his memory is failing because he went on to say, “I’ll bet if you look at pictures of world leaders over 20 years meeting the emperor in Japan, they don’t bow.” Whoops. OK, President Bush did not meet with the Emperor, Bush attended his funeral and bowed to show his respect to the man in charge when we were at war with Japan. President Nixon, however, can be seen in a Life magazine photo from 1971 bowing to a living Emperor Hirohito.William Bennett who was Secretary of Education in the Reagan years (incidentally, Kristol served as his chief of staff at the DoE) and was a “Drug Czar” in the Bush (41) Administration, had this to say about the Obama bow to CNN”s John King, “”It’s ugly. I don’t want to see it…We don’t defer to emperors. We don’t defer to kings or emperors. The president of the United States – this coupled with so many apologies from the United States — is just another thing.”
Kristol and Bennett are right to be embarrassed, but not because President Obama used a customary Japanese greeting when meeting the Emperor and Empress of Japan. President Obama showed that the United States is capable of showing kindness and respect to our neighbors in the world. Kristol and Bennett should be ashamed. They could overlook Nixon’s and Bush’s acts, but not Obama’s? Kristol and Bennett’s 2009 statements juxtaposed to the absence of statements in 1989 represent nothing more than a partisan hack job.
This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register blog entry.
Top Photo: US President Barack Obama (L) bows as he shakes hands with Japanese Emperor Akihito (C) and as Empress Michiko (R) looks on upon Obama's arrival at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on November 14. (Courtesy AFB, 2009)
Bottom photo: President Richard Nixon bows to Japanese Emperor Hirohito in 1971. (Courtesy Life Magazine)
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