Monday, November 16, 2009

The dangers of symbolic diplomacy

Three worthwhile posts about the presidential bow:


Macsmind:

After all I've lived with Korean/Japanese wife for 26 years, and lived for many years in the orient, and I'm not only familiar the custom of bowing, I actually do it from time to time. A bow can mean many things to the oriental way. However Obama's bow was "to the earth" with his eyes looking downward.

My wife gasped when she saw it, "It's a signal of defeat" she continued
.


Flooding The Memory Hole

Fresh from their triumphant non-coverage of Obama's inappropriate "shout-out" to Dr. Joe Medicine Crow before addressing the nation about the Fort Hood shooting, the MSM (and especially the NY Times) can now not-cover Obama's comical, culturally insensitive bowing handshake to the Japanese emperor.


Neo-neocon

Behind Obama’s bow: making up to Hirohito for past humiliations


The last is a little speculative but interesting nonetheless.

The MSM has no time for such trivia, of course. The have to get to the serious issues like the fact that mean Sarah Palin accused Steve Schmidt of being fat.

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