Japanese Mortified By Obama's Bow

Tuesday, November 17, 2009
By Sean Hannity

FNC

The news that is not White House approved...

Embarrassing an Ally

Over the weekend President Obama declared himself the first Pacific president. I'm not sure if that was before or after he bowed to the Japanese emperor while trying to shake his hand at the same time. Unfortunately, that's not exactly how the Japanese perform their customary bow.

ABC's Jake Tapper reports that at least one Japanese newspaper is not printing the picture of the president's mortifying bow because the Japanese are embarrassed by his behavior. A scholar of traditional Japan tells Mr. Tapper, "The bow… did not just display weakness in Red State terms, but evoked weakness in Japanese terms… The last thing the Japanese want or need is a weak-looking American president."

Wasn't this president elected to restore our alliances and repair our images abroad? Now he's embarrassed the U.S. and one of our allies all at the same time. That takes real effort.