Why is CNN wasting everyone's time with the 'Obama bow'?
OK, what the heck is CNN doing in this segment? Is there something wrong with Blitzer and their news department? For them to waste almost three minutes of their biggest news show on something as trivial and ignorant as the conservative kerfluffle over Obama's bow to King Abdullah is quite shocking.
The only people making this a story are right-wing fanatics such as wingnut billionare Richard Melon Scaife' and his op-ed pages, looking for any excuse to attack President Obama.
And Blitzer praises CNN reporter Dan Lothian as if it were an incredible question to ask Robert Gibbs. The Pittsburgh Gazzette is proof positive that "people" are just so upset by it. And I think Gibbs is 100% right when he says America couldn't care less about this.
BLITZER: But I want to move on to some controversy involving the president when he was in Europe last week.
He met with the king of Saudi Arabia. We got a picture there. I think we also have some video as well. He appears to bow when he met with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. And the White House press secretary Robert Gibbs had this exchange with our Dan Lothian over at the White House briefing earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It does appear that the president actually bowed to King Abdullah. Did he bow or didn't he?
GIBBS: I think he bent over with both to shake -- with both hands to shake his hands. So I don't...
LOTHIAN: To show one hand...
GIBBS: No. I...
LAUGHTER)
LOTHIAN: Did he bow or didn't he?
GIBBS: No. But I think this meeting was like a week ago, right?
LOTHIAN: That's right, but this is something that a lot of people are still talking about today.
GIBBS: I can only imagine it is of great cause and concern for many people struggling with the economy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: All right. Clearly trying to play down the issue. The "Pittsburgh Tribune Review" editorial said this, Donna, "In the least, it was an embarrassing protocol faux paus. Mr. Obama is not the king's subject but his equal. But the bow," in quotes, "actually was worst than that, it's a troubling metaphor for a deferential presidency."
He's getting a lot of criticism from the right.
BRAZILE: Well, you know, they criticized Michelle Obama, the First Lady, for supposedly touching the Queen, so I don't know if it was a bow, a nod or that was his way of saying -- you know (speaking foreign language), I don't know what the greeting was, but look, the fact is that he was just showing his friendship and his kindness to a country that we hope remains a strong ally in the Middle East.
BLITZER: Big deal or little deal?
PERINO: I think it's a little deal if they would have let it be a little deal but I think that they have perpetuated this story for several days because if you look at the tape, just from the plain face of it people can look at it and go, oh gosh, that kind of looks like a bow.
But I think they could have handled it differently. Look, when President Bush did the cultural and customary thing of grabbing the king of Saudi Arabia's hand, we saw the Democrats play that card over and over again.
BLITZER: He went further. Take a look at -- turn around, you can see the video we have. If you turn around, Dana, right behind you. But he went further, he actually gave him a kiss.
PERINO: Well, that's the customary thing to do. And you get your State Department memo, you left that protocol and you want to do the right thing.
BLITZER: But you can imagine if President Obama...
PERINO: But no American bows to anybody else.
BLITZER: ... would have kissed King Abdullah...
PERINO: But America -- our whole country is based on the fact that we're not the subject of anybody else and we're not supposed to bow. That's probably why this is a controversy. I think the White House probably could have blown this off earlier if they would have just said thought that that was the protocol, trying to be kind. You know, move on.
Instead, now it's like four days later and we're still talking about it and you're showing the videotape.
BLITZER: All right.
BRAZILE: Look, I just think he was just trying to show just some -- just show mutual respect.
I have to hand it to LGF for exposing this from the right-wing perspective: "Bush Bowed Too."
Garbage like this makes America look incredibly petty and xenophobic in the eyes of the rest of the world. From our perspective, it just makes right-wingers look like idiots -- and their media enablers like the handmaidens of idiots.
their 67 year old audience?
This story is beginning to spread
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/4/10/71849...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F26vC_1_8xw
the problem that most people in the USA
don't know or understand that not all the
world shakes hands......there are other polite
forms of greeting, America suck it up and learn
something.
i personally don't like being touched by someone
i don't know, i nod at meeting and wave goodbye.
I have no fu*king idea why anyone is talking about it. Don't they have more serious things to talk about like what color underwear he wears.
If he hadn't leaned forward/bowed they would be talking about that.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
In fact I think we are already there.
Well you gave it a good start
Misspelling a made-up word
Idiotocracy.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
It's Idiocracy, after the movie.
One of these days I have to see that movie.
Lately I've been collecting Mike Hammer starring Darren McGavin (roughly 1958-1960), The Son of Tarzan (1920), The Adventures of Tarzan (1921), and Zorro's Fighting Legions (1939).
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
Wouldn't Idocracy refer not to mental disabilities, but living purely in the the rather beastial state of the id?
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
I just watched that movie last night and my IQ seriously dropped by, like, 40 points or something
yeesh
pwned!
:<[)
Some stuff you can't make up!
This is a little off topic but Karl Rove is making some nasty comments about Joe Biden. For the record, Joe Biden was aware as far back as May 2005 that Bush, Cheney and Rove were the liars. Take it from one who knows the truth. The real truth!
I seriously don't care and when Joe Scarborough tried to bring it up it was only knocked right back down when Willie Giest showed Colbert and Stewart clips of Bush courting the same man.
Now lets talk about the Repbulican Tea Bagging Party that's coming up(LOL)
Is any body ever gonna tell those morons exactly what "Tebagging" means?? Rachel Maddow and Anna Marie Cox (be still my heart)had a "Ball" with it last night.
She's been my future ex-wife for months now! ;)
But wasn't that teabagging segment fuunier than hell?
self esteem hardening cream? Future ex-wife?
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
I've been smitten..And I live in the D.C. area and I swear sometimes I can feel her near me.I also have to confess that sometimes I tune in Rachel just to see Ana!!Am I bad? or only human?
deadpan -- a four-star performance.
And no, don't anybody tell the Repubs what "teabagging" really means!
Great idea P O P. I do wonder what colour underwear he wears. Boxers or briefs? We must know these things.
far left loon >.<
Even if Obama did bow to the king of Saudi Arabia, it would be better than the 8 years of bending over for the Saudis that we got from Bush.
Nice distinction.
And by the way, this is exactly what I would expect from Wolf "I'm so Incredibly Important" Blitzer. The guy is a hack...
This bowing to a leader is appalling. What we need from the president is a dignified display...like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvxKZRf8k2k
and we'll be this.
http://jabberinwookie.files.wordpress.com/200...
People did the same when first lady nancy ray gunn curtsied to the Queen.
But First Lady isn't really an official title.
It be nice if leaders just made it a custom to bow to each other, which in effect they do when they stoop a little to shake hands.
I always wondered about the Beatles concluding every show with a perfectly synchronized bow to the audience. Did all English musicians do this, even in genres preceding rock and or roll?
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
What would CNN prefer? That Obama chug a beer and belch in Abudullah's face?
How about doing a spastic sword dance?
Maybe he should, in the middle of lunch and while his mouth is full, opine that "The *munch* Saudis need to *chew* knock this shit off."
How about a backrub?
And what's with Dana Perino as Miss Manners? The White House spokesman is Robert Gibbs, not Dana the Parrot.
I'm surprised that Gibbs fumbled through a response, but perhaps he was just floored by the sheer stupidity of the question. When I was growing up, young men were taught to bow, and young women were taught to curtsy. (Of course, we were also told to stand up straight, not fidget, and look people in the eye when you spoke to them ... all things that GWB seemed not to have learned as a young man of privilege and good breeding.)
... a television crew from Japan was here several years back, and I knew enough custom to bow and present my business card in the proper manner.
The reporter smiled broadly, returned the gesture, and, thus, a professional contact was made on the basis of a simple gesture of respect.
...Do you hate America? /snark_off
Beat me to it ya bastage!
Fri, 04/10/2009 - 09:12 — Shadowgm
What would CNN prefer? That Obama chug a beer and belch in Abudullah's face?
How about doing a spastic sword dance?
______________________________________________________________
Hey now...now you're making fun of our Scottish protocols.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
SecState Clinton can belt one back properly.
And I've never considered a Morris dancer to be spastic.
Morris dancing, although probably wide-spread (like larry craig) is largely considered an English custom. I was referring to sword dancing.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
maybe Obama shoulda massaged his shoulders...
Why didn't anybody say anything when Dumbya kissed one of those Poobahs
on the FREEKIN' LIPS
for feck sake? (yeah, I know; it's a rhetorical question)
What would CNN prefer? That Obama chug a beer and belch in Abudullah's face?
**********************************************************
He would then be imitating bush (W).
Do presidents kiss the pope's ring?
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
That he was answerable to the Pope because *gasp* he was a Catholic?
That and he said he was a jelly donut.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
When Pres Obama was recently in Europe, the best my local right wing radio blowhards could come up with was that the knot in Pres Obama's tie was not 100% centered, and they seem to think this was proof of poor leadership. I kid you not, these righties are grasping at straws..No shock they no dwell on somthing as trivial as how he bowed
... he had dinner with Hu Jintao and *gasp* Obama used CHOPSTICKS!
comes down to is these "shows" or whatever they are are the new soap operas.
if you compare.
Here is my hypothesis:
They are just not used to having a person as POTUS who is more interested in the Substance of the office than the Symbols. Also they still don't know how to handle a man who inherently polite and courteous.
One more thought, from the pictures I've seen there is no way to tell if the President was leaning forward to say something private to King Abdullah. Say the traditional Moslem greeting?
TV is the tool.
It's so important to try to get the kind of ratings Faux gets.
if everyone just stopped watching TV they would go the way of newspapers.
... they get even whinier? (All while hyping their website!)
also of turning into one Giant AOL-Faux Parade also.
... the websites are connected to the broadcast newsroom. Same wire services. Same video feeds. Same management.
"It never hurts to be polite in any language." One could add "...in any country", too. Haven't we had enough of being (all too rightfully) pegged as "Ugly Americans"?
Whenever I went overseas on military duty, I can't tell you how many times I was told that I 'didn't act like an American'. Mainly because I kept my mouth shut and listened when someone else was talking, and tried to learn something of the culture and language of the places I was going to.
And with those who couldn't place my accent, I got a big kick to see the looks on their faces when I told them where I came from. 'Shock' doesn't cover it.
As my old 6th dan black belt sensei put it, "Bowing is one thing; kneeling is another." No harm done here. The Repugs should just chill...
Your mom was a mountain?
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
but she was not punctual.
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
and puked in somebody's lap...
If I had computer smarts and a blog -
I'd run that photo of Chimp playing kissy-face with Poobah
and the Merkel Massage, the Drunk at the Olympics,
etc.
nah you get used to seeing american presidents bending over for the saudies, you just have to be careful thiers no hands on your shoulders from behind you!or someones unbuckeling your pants belt
It beats GWB kissing, and holding hands with his Majesty while walking through the Crawford Ranch Flower garden weeks after 911.
... make a big deal about Wanton boy practically tongue-kissing the Saudi prince? They sure liked to hold hands and gaze into each other's eyes, no doubt blissful about all of their oil wealth ...
Screw Blitzer and the rest of 'em ... media whores extraordinaire.
They pulled this distraction shit throughout President Blood Sipper's reign. Whenever Obama does something well like his European trip, the MSM concocts a story for the criminally stupid to chew on.
because they are hacks asked and answered.
Some stuff you can't make up!
He did the same thing with Quen Elizabeth. Of course, the right wing only cares if the head of sate to whom he's showing respect is an Arab. I suppose the wingnuts would rather he talk tough like Dubya - walking hand in hand with his buddy Abdullah.
No matter what Obama does - the right will carry on like it's the end of the world.
I think it's time for a special prosecutor to look into torture allegations. Maybe these guys will have trouble finding Wolfie to spread their disease if they're sitting in a cell.
Obama did not bow to the Queen he nodded his head which is a sign of respect.
posting "my heads going to explode" if I keep watching this freaking wingnut bullshit.
We'll that's exactly correct and what they intend.
Billy Mays here with the new, ultra-amazing Splat-Be-Gone! No more embarassing bloodstain, brain chunks, or messy gibs! Just spray, wipe, and it's gone! But if you call NOW, you'll also get a bottle of our special Brain Replacement Foam. It's pink, it's spongy, it's light, it's airy, it won't weigh you down one bit!
I HATE billy mays...he's no Vince, that's for sure!
but thst was a heck of a catch in center field and will e replayed as long as baseball is fondly remembered.
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
about the protocol in question. Obama's people should have handled it differently. When confronted with an inconvenient question by a reporter at a press conference the correct protocol is to question the reporter's parentage, sanity and loyalty in that order. Perino is an expert after all.
Hasa Diga Eebowai
..when Bush was seen walking arm-in-arm with the King? No? that's odd!
Mickey: "It was an epiphany. Do you know what an epipany is?"
Keoni: "NOT NOW MICKEY!"
Something for your good Friday:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u88kf1J6Kv4
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
in the air right now.
Yeah, I wake up in the morning tenting my covers too.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
The real problem is that if an American president isn't acting like a completely arrogant pr!ck on the world stage it is a sign of weakness. How dare he show respect or humility. (Course if he didn't bow it would be because he is so arrogant that he thinks the sun will shine out his ass if he bends over.)
From the headline for a moment I thought carlson tucker lended Obama one of his.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
The problem with the bow, and Bush dancing around like a chimp for the Saudis' amusement, is this:
www.asecondlookatthesaudis.com
It's no wonder these folks think they can get away with the mass murder of the American public with impunity.
PERINO: But America -- our whole country is based on the fact that we're not the subject of anybody else and we're not supposed to bow.
That's what it all boils down to, the American supposition that "no American bows to anybody else".
Maybe it's time for a little humility, America. When you blow up the world's economy because your banks start treating the economy exactly like the Monopoly money that it's all built upon, then maybe a little bowing and scraping is in order from time to time.
Oh, no, we don't want to offend the Proud Americans who know in their hearts of hearts that they are the Master Race and that they therefore should never bow to anyone.
It's that kind of thinking that puts us into unnecessary wars with nations who haven't done a darn thing to us.
... our country was founded on the principles of respect and equality, under which, there would be no need for bowing and scraping.
Perino is thinking of the athlete who refused to dip the American flag at the Olympics, citing that the Stars & Stripes dips to no earthly king or potentate.
I read that Thomas Jefferson received a foreign ambasaddor wearing a tatty house robe, so as not to put on airs.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
but to the saudis?
Does the state department keep a "naughty and nice" list of nations to whom our President can or can't bow?
..its a slow NEWS day! It must be; no recession, unemployment is fine, the banks are in great shape, so let's focus on the President's mistakes...
They live in a fantasy land with cotton candy clouds and a gum drop sun. This is why I don't watch CNN unless I watch it so I don't have to watch Moroning Joe.
Mickey: "It was an epiphany. Do you know what an epipany is?"
Keoni: "NOT NOW MICKEY!"
This is the matrix baby!
... I have the Architect's pen. (Really. It's a roller ball pen made by Lamy. The only thing it doesn't do is control a nifty video wall ...)
Like David Letterman said, maybe it's time Obama considered stepping down. Desperation is so unlike the right. This is the best they have? they're losing the economy fight so we stoop to whether or not the President bowed. If he did okay, he got it wrong. Let's move on now, it's not like the bow got nearly 5000 soldiers killed.
is intended to be a factual statement
We agree upon and consent to its reality, just as the Aztecs agreed upon Quetzalcoatl and the lost people of Easter Island agreed that the great stone effigies of their remote island had significance.
Sheesh
This is the Matrix.
"You can feel it all around you. When you go to work. When you pay your taxes. It is the world pulled down over your eyes to blind you to the truth."
"What truth?"
"That you are a slave, Neo."
CNN, as usual, wastes a lot of air time on fluff.
yet, call me crazy, but i don't think the "king" deserves respect. sorry, maybe this is why i would make a terrible diplomat.
the "kingdom" disgusts me
I'm sure in Saudi Arabia, as well as some European countries, there's someone comparable to a president that is actually in charge of running things. But monarchs always were supposed to be of a different nature.
Showing respect to a monarch, even symbolic head of state like Queen Elizabeth, isn't necessarily showing respect to the person but to their history, their customs and their people. Diplomacy flows in two ways, with both trying to signal to the people of each side.
Would it be considered unheard of if the US president LOOOOOOVVVVEEED porkchops like King Homer, and had it served to a visiting Israeli head of state?
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
is there a governing body in SA that trumps the power of the throne?
i am not familiar with this body...
and when it comes to the saudi royal family i would have a hard time showing respect to a family with a decades-long history of authoritarianism, and i would have a hard time forgetting that 'their customs and their people' are totally abused and disgraced by the royal family themselves.
me = bad diplomat.
Probably not, but that's why I specified running things on a day-to-day basis.
We have leaders in the world who are symbolic heads of state, like the Queen, those who are actual leaders with various titles like president, premier, prime minister, depending on what country you're in.
In America, the president is both symbolic head of state and actual leader.
But even here he cannot initiate legislation, or make legal decisions like the court.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
here is some data from the 'world fact book'
chief of state: King and Prime Minister ABDALLAH bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (since 1 August 2005); Heir Apparent Crown Prince SULTAN bin Abd al- Aziz Al Saud (half brother of the monarch); note - the monarch is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: King and Prime Minister ABDALLAH bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud (since 1 August 2005); Deputy Prime Minister SULTAN bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud; Second Deputy Prime Minister NAYIF bin Abd Al-Aziz Al Saud
cabinet: Council of Ministers is appointed by the monarch every four years and includes many royal family members
elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; note - a new Allegiance Commission created by royal decree in October 2006 established a committee of Saudi princes that will play a role in selecting future Saudi kings, but the new system will not take effect until after Crown Prince Sultan becomes king
I don't think that disproves necessarily my key point. That at that moment they were acting as head (or chief) of state in a purely symbolic function.
If they came to some sort of agreement, they would be likely standing side-by-side at a podium, while Obama will be announcing the agreement to the press, while the press asks him questions about Brittany Spears walking off-stage.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
i wasn't trying to disprove your key point--just providing that piece of datum about the head of state being the king
I am going to copy it.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
They're in distress because Fox News is eating their lunch in terms of ratings (and, presumably, ad revenue). They can't decide how best to compete with Fox: go after Fox on its own turf by becoming full-bore righty, or go the other way, like MSNBC.
So they've settled (or fallen into) a pathetic, fuzzy-headed "me-tooism," giving traction to ridiculous conservative memes on an ad-hoc (and apparently random) basis. Apparently they think this will allow them to pick off enough Dittoheads to make a difference. Ain't gonna work. The middle of the road, as they say, is where you get run over.
Everyone is supposed to address the Queen as your Royal Highness (but only after she addresses you?). Would CNN made a big deal if Obama said that?
There are portions of the Middle East that Liz would like to visit, but she doesn't out of deference for the customs of both countries. In her own, the Prince Consort is supposed to follow her, but in the countries she would like to visit, as the wife she's supposed to follow him.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
Bush 2 bends over and grabs the German Chancellor's titties.
Bush 1 pukes on the Japanese Prime Minister.
were it not for the late night comedians, we wouldn't have even heard about it.
Obama shows some cultural diplomacy OH NOES ITS BETTER BE TEH FRONT PAGE NOOZ!!1
Damn straight.
If anybody is doing the bowing,it's a non-American doing the bowing.
Scraping and bowing.Pleading and begging works for me as well.
"To me, truth is not some vague, foggy notion. Truth is real. And,
at the same time, unreal. Fiction and fact and everything in between,
plus some things I can't remember, all rolled into one big "thing."
This is truth, to me. "
-Jack Handy
who admittedly hates Obama. I usually just go back to my office but had enough. "Assuming Obama did actually bow, which is more catering to the Saudis - a polite, cultural gesture or whisking family members away secretly in private jets after 9-11, even when 'no fly' restrictions had been declared? He then mumbled something about Muslims and walked back to his office.
I've seen some stuff, man. And some thangs...
The "whisking family members away" meme has been fairly well debunked - most of the Bin Laden family members (22 out of 26) were interviewed before they left the country on September 20th, well after the "no fly" restrictions had been lifted.
HOWEVER-
All ya gotta do is google "Bush family money Saudis", and you get LOTS of hits like this:
"..despite the calls to get tough, Time Magazine concludes that the Administration's all-too-close ties to the Saudi royal family makes "it seem unlikely that the Bush Administration will adopt a tougher policy toward Riyadh."
SO...in Republicanland...
A President with long-time family connections to the Saudi royal family who is personally financially beholden to them? No problem!
A President who (kinda sorta maybe) BOWS to the Saudi King on a formal visit? OH NOEZ!!! GRAB YOUR AMMUNITION! WE'LL ALL BE LIVING UNDER SHARIA LAW BY MEMORIAL DAY!!!!11!!!!1!!
but can you provide a link bebunking "All airlines in the United States were grounded for two days after 9/11. Yet, on September 13, 2001, the White House authorized six Saudi jets to fly bin Laden family members from America to Saudi Arabia. The members of the bin Laden family were never questioned by United States authorities." And this Salon posting: http://dir.salon.com/story/books/feature/2004...
Not saying it hasn't been debunked, just would like to see the sources.
I've seen some stuff, man. And some thangs...
commercial flights were slowly being resumed at that time. Yes private flights were still banned but they got official authorization to fly. Or do you feel that the White House and the FAA did not have the authority to authorize those flights. And there were exceptions made for emergency medical and military flights.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAAIOoG_JOA
... it's part of the 'uppity black' thing. See, he won't kowtow to the White Christian American Patriots, but he'll bow to some A-rab guy.
Wouldna it behoove the kow moove under it's own power?
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
... a moo-ving violation. Best to steer clear.
The other red meat.
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Only "situation" Wolf Blitzer should find himself in is being let go by CNN.
CNN could do all Americans a big favor by cutting back from current 7 Day/24 Hour schedule and going with 7/16 or even a 7/8 schedule. This CNN focus on the Obama "bow" comes under "silly stuff screen time filler" header.
If CNN would drop the E! styled crap and go with indepth/useful/informative discussions not governed by the usual CNN talking parrots or commercial breaks and do steady and sane news and debate presentation that would be a massive improvement.
CNN?-- please also dump Lou Dobbs. The guy just has ground the illegal immigrant story to fine dust.
If Lou Dobbs is a political independent it is hard to see what he is "independent" about.
Walter Cronkite over the CBS Network could cover daily news with better reveal in a half hour then CNN and Wolf Blitzer does in three hours day to day. Stop the abuse.
.
Q U E S T I O N:
Who is this ubiquitous "THEY" Dana Perino refers to when criticizing the perpetuation of this story as she stands in at CNN covering this story adding her own criticism of the MSM debate of...
... "THE BOW"?
.
Starve the WAR Beast...
... Save the World.
With respect to the headline: Does this question really need asking?
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
to a sovereign ruler? Yes there are bows of courtesy and respect. But performing a bow to a sovereign ruler signifies being a citizen under the authority of said sovereign or servitude, subservience. If it is no big deal why is the White House denying it ever happened. And yes I have heard the official statement that because he is taller than the king he bent down to shake his hand. If you watch the video he grasps his hand bends down and stands fully back up while still holding his hand. And when have you ever seen anyone have to lower their head below the level of the other persons to shake hands.
the right wing circle jerk is over at RedState. Hurry they're holding your place!
Hasa Diga Eebowai
So, apparently he got his circle jerks mixed up, is that it, Peter?
But as you've shown Dennis you're totally bi in this regard so welcome back.
Hasa Diga Eebowai
It's just not even a challenge any more, Peter. When I'd question anyone's likelihood of hypocrisy a few years ago here by asking what they would've said with something Clinton might've done that was similar to something Bush had just done and was getting raked over the coals here over it, it was always "two wrongs don't make a right, Dennis", or "what's your Clinton obsession, Dennis?", or "Enough with your tu quoqes, Dennis" (ysby's favorite).
Now that I know what the bloggers here said and what the overall opinions of most of the posters were from back then as opposed to now and read them on here, I just laugh.
Care to harbor a guess as to how many threads there'd have been here if Bush had bowed like that to the Saudi king? How the same posters here would've howled with glee and mockery, the ones who are now asking what's the big deal? Especially if Tony Snow had come up with the lame lie that the President was taller and he was grabbing the Saudi king's hands with both of his and therefore had to bend over that far? You guys would be going f'ing nuts for days on end.
I'll probably get deleted and so just wasting my time typing, but like I said, not even a challenge.
well you have brought up some interesting points dennis as allways! i to think the bum excuse the whitehouse put out about bowing for a handshake blows the big one!
I don't really care either way if he bowed or not, but to pretend it's no big deal that the press secretary just made a bumbling fool of himself when caught in a lie is just a bit strange to read here.
well im 6 ft 4 and have never had to scrape my head on the ground to shake a shorter mans hand!
you might be right about that. I do recall a few comments about Bush's hand holding and kisses. However I don't think Gibbs was lying. I also fail to see how this imaginary terrible international incident bespeaks the end of US sovereignty as you might think if you were perusing the right wing blogs. I also very much doubt you'll be banned for commenting. You're usually quite civil.
Hasa Diga Eebowai
Here's a pretty good video that shows Gibb's first excuse hard to accept, and why he had to back away from that the second time he was asked.
CNN mildly scolds Obama for bow, media for ignoring it.
hey dennis welcome home!
this explains soooooo many things now.
let us in on your enlightment! what? now you believe in conspiracys? tyler, he he! wow is right!
like a little strange in your circle jerks.
well , ummmmm never actually!
... Obama bowed in obesiance to the Saudi King. Gibbs said no, and then suggested that the CNN reporter might have misread the moment.
If you bother to raise your head out of your bunker, I believe the traditional greeting of respect in Islamic countries (which include our new buddies in Iraq and Afghanistan) is to bow and say, 'Salaam Alaikum.' - peace unto you, whereupon the other person replies 'alaikum salaam.'
The Hebrew words aren't all that different, 'shalom aleichem.'
And the Catholic liturgy contains the same construct, "Peace be with you," "And also with you."
It is cultural as well as religious, and has nothing to do with signifying the authority of a sovereign.
A traditional Arab greeting between men involves each grasping the other's right hand, placing the left hand on the other's right shoulder, and exchanging kisses on each cheek.
http://careers.berlitz.com/Africa_MiddleEast/...
I'd rather be kissed by a camel
They probably have better oral hygiene.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
or you just wanna hump or 2
*rimshot*
checking various websites on etiquette I can't find anywhere that etiquette requires bowing. But you are correct about that being one of the traditional greetings.
http://www.traveletiquette.co.uk/etiquette-in...
http://www.cyborlink.com/besite/saudi-arabia.htm
http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/glo...
Do you have any sites that list bowing as traditional?
This just in - - - -
An unidentified source has timed the amount of time that Obama (Barak HUSSEIN, that is) accumulates during an average trip to the john (no, not McCain). A trip to the john for the average adult heterosexual American male takes 40 seconds - unzipping, urinating, shaking 'it' (NOT more than twice), zipping, hand washing and drying, etc.
It has been said that Obama (Barak HUSSEIN that is) takes 42 seconds.
Could that possibly indicate that Obama (Barak HUSSEIN) shakes 'it' more than twice and is therefore.....
PLAYING WITH IT !
got pics?
selling the Unite States to the Saudis? What about the bushies licking their asses at every turn?
Look Blitzer is a right wing hack, and CNN is only slightly less offensive than FAUX News, let's move on already!
The economy is tanked, and unemployment is allegedly going to be in double digits this summer ... Blitzer can find much more important news to discuss, and it is his responsibility to do exactly that ... but yet he chooses to report something so inconsequential to the American people. Why I wonder would he do that? Could it be that he too will take any opportunity to make the President look bad? THAT WOULD BE MY GUESS!
and this Obama bow may result in another terrorist attack that could have been prevented if Michelle had not touched QEII.
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
was that on cnn just now?
which I can smell in my front yard 300 miles to the south.
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
I know this has been noted a million times, and it's just so obvious, but when there's a Republican president, the media don't attack every little thing they can about the president the way they do with a Democrat like Obama. They didn't even attack Bush in this way, and he was the most lawless, least competent president the US ever had. The media never even spent a second on the fact that Bush wasn't even elected in 2000. Yet, they now take their cue from right-wing crazy sources and dwell on non-issues like this.
I seem to recall Bush kissing the guy and holding his hand.I also remember shortly after THAT love-fest,Mr Bush also took it in the @ss when he asked for, and was denied his request for a break in oil prices.Where was the outrage then??
better yet. why are we wasting time on this site about this.
Hmmmm.
for dead cops in Pittsburgh?
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
There are all sorts of stupid rules about "royalty" (read: paid whores) and how you're supposed to treat them, such as walking backwards away from them to avoid turning your back. Bowing to the Saudi king is probably one of them.
I remember hearing the kerfuffle about this back in the 1980s:
http://vigneshram.tumblr.com/post/78944430/pi...
If Obama had done something similar, no doubt the rightwing media would pretend that was a major issue, too. In all likelihood, Obama is simply more educated about such rules, rather than being "subservient to his muslim masters" as the looney tunes are trying to portray.
Michelle's Whitey Tape
Obama's flag pin
Lipstick on a Pig
Republicans: beyond hypocrisy, beneath contempt.
Bill Ayers
Rev. Wright
God and guns
Michelle being proud of her country.
Republicans: the few brain cells left are reserved for violence and bigotry.
The problem is everyone is for limited government, but getting their help when we need it.
It's like some saying their pro-family or pro-values; well, who's against family or values?
It's just that they vary from person to person.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
I always hated Whitney's shriek to the rafters approach to singing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_utP1mGoutQ
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
She never heard of dynamics.
When I was in an Arts High School taking theatre, they told us that a good actor (with the director), decide which are they key lines and will spend the rest of the time building to and from those key lines that receive emphasis.
Even preachers have that problem. They either try to take the Jimmy Swaggert or the Ned Flanders approach.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8WmvMCTW_g
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
Anyone who watched Frontline-Black Money last week saw several instances of Ronald Reagan's soul mate BOWING to King Abdullah.
Where is the faux outrage over THAT?
My sole mate is chips
Both soaked in Crosse and Blackwell's malted vinegar.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
does anyone get Cross with Mr. Blackwell?
“Why would anyone with a functioning brain believe this guy?”
Some guy with an eating disorder
The real issue is less about the bow and more about the administration’s clear dishonesty. It's sad to see those that I read and respected during the Bush years following the same pattern of cognitive dissonance we saw from the wingnuts for eight years under Bush.
Consider for a minute how you would have reacted if it had been a Republican administration whose statements were clearly dishonest when compared with video evidence. Would you have dismissed it as a "waste of time?" We need to hold the new administration to the same standard we would hold the old one, or any other administration for that matter.
The double-standard is a tremendous failure to learn the lessons of the last eight years.
Just like Bush kissing that stupid prince. The only thing that made me laugh about that was the fact that most of his base is populated by manly-man homophobes and here was their boy, ah-smooching another man. Horrors! He could have swapped spit into the wee morning hours with a gang of Shriners for all I care, if he had just been a better pretend-president.
"Tremendous failure" and "clearly dishonest" are sort of exaggerations, imho.
And no, I don't really care if an elected official waffles a bit on things like this, if President Obama is indeed doing so. What does it have to do with making sure I don't get laid off next year or if we get out of Iraq sooner rather than later?
I'm just superstitious enough to hedge my bets.
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