Is Obama being cowardly in the eyes of other nations?

OK, my uncle was ranting about how Obama was bowing to other leaders. He said that no other presidents have ever been so apologetic and meek towards other leaders. I questioned whether this was a legitimate thing to say about Obama. Is he being cowardly or respectful?Is Obama being cowardly in the eyes of other nations?You need to tell you uncle, the US isnt the top dog no more, it cant demand anything off other nations it now asks. Your uncle is arrogant and foolish. Try demanding something off china they will give you the middle finger or even worse 'foreclosure of a dream' to quote a megadeth song.|||Contrary to what your uncle (and other posters) thinks, a bow in Japan is not apologetic or meek, it's protocol and good manners.



And in Japan the bow was not returned because while in Japan, the Emperor bows to no one, period.



How refreshing it is to have a president who appears to be cognizant of and respect other countries' traditions and culture.Is Obama being cowardly in the eyes of other nations?I don't think he's being either. I think he doesn't know how other cultures view the difference between respect and subservience.

If these bows were respectful in nature, both leaders should have bowed equally and maintained eye contact. This did not happen. In Japan, the President bowed low, downcast his eyes, and said bow was not even slightly returned. Similar situation in Saudi Arabia, though it would be less likely the King there would return a bow.

Personally, it's one thing for me, as a private citizen, to give such a bow. The President of the USA should be bowing to no other leader.|||Your uncle probably doesn't understand the foreign policy disaster that Obama inherited from the Bush administration. After 8 years of strong-arming and disregard for diplomacy, the Obama administration is tasked with restoring trust to American relations to the international community. The bowing is just President Obama's way of showing respect to the leaders he meets. It's merely a polite gesture. The U.S. is a military superpower, a G8 member, and a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. As President, Barack Obama is the Commander-in-Chief of U.S. armed forces and the U.S. head of state. Nobody doubts his power or the power of America in the international community.Is Obama being cowardly in the eyes of other nations?"apologetic and meek towards other leaders"



Anybody who says this has never left Kentucky. Ask anybody who has been to Japan (where they bow) or Thailand (where they wai), its a respect thing, and even more so, a way of greeting. To them, its not that you are bowing like you are a servant or meek, its the same as a handshake. Imagine walking up to someone in USA and meeting them for the first time, and not shaking their hand, thats how it looks when an american goes over there and doesnt bow or wai. When I first arrived in Japan, I felt weird doing it, but I realized that they do not shake hands usually, thats what they do instead...and in Thailand its even more so with the wai, they use it to greet, they use it to say bye, they use it to say sorry, and they use it just to show respect to elders.

If anybody is making us look bad, its the people criticizing him for it. It makes us all look like ignorant rednecks that know nothing about culture outside of our own. Try to walk around in Japan or Thailand and don't bow to people, see how many friends you make. It's ironic because foreigners come to USA, people get mad if they don't learn our cultures or learn english. We go over there and learn their cultures and do as they do, and the ignorant people attack him for it. Go figure.





Lawrence:

"If these bows were respectful in nature, both leaders should have bowed equally and maintained eye contact."



Not true Lawrence, you watch too many movies. If the person is an elder, the younger person bows fuller and lower than the elder. The elder does a minimum bow because he's older and that's just how it is. You don't maintain eye contact in a bow, that's disrespectful.





"Bowing seems simple, but there are some different ways of bowing. It depends on the social status or age of the person you bow to. If the person is higher status or older than you are, it's common to bow deeper and longer, showing respect."

http://gojapan.about.com/cs/etiquetteinj鈥?/a>



"Start the bow by looking at the persons eyes your greeting. As you bend your torso keep your line of sight with his or her torso as you bend. Make sure your eyes are open and not fixed on the other persons eyes as you bow."

http://www.ehow.com/how_2128081_politely鈥?/a>



"Basic bows originate at the waist and are performed with the back straight and the hands at the sides (for men) or clasped in front (for women), and with the eyes down."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowing|||Obama has bashed America every place he has went to, and he bows to them. Obama is a traitor, and is putting it right in our faces on national TV. A US President does NOT BOW, to other Leaders. and Obama is not a friend of the USA, and he could care less what WE think. He said in his book " He would take the side of Muslims", read it , it is in there. Obama is NOT good for America. For the first time in my whole life, I am really ashamed of the President of the USA. He is a Coward, and other nations are seeing it, he is weak and a traitor to the country he swore under OATH to protect.|||Issues like these do not matter.... it's only a distraction by the media. let's focus on other critical issues like auditing the federal resrve hr 1207

i could care less if he is cowardly or respectful, it's just an opinion question. let's move on people, more important issues here....|||Most Americans believe bowing to another person shows subservience, it is in fact a demonstration of respect. Obama is not meek. He is rather charismatic. I would go as far as to say he is welcome in the eyes of the world.|||Diplomacy is not a sign of weakness, to me a sign of weakness is being a bully.



Seems many have forgotten Teddy Roosevelt, "speak softly and carry a big stick"



We have a mighty big stick and we can afford to speak softly.



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Independent|||obama is a coward in every sence of the word he has done nothing but spend money we dont have I dont think he cares what happens to America What kind of an IDIOT would bring terroist to America and give them constitusional rights I am not sure he is not a terroist himself.|||Cowardly no. A hussler, tricky leader, ripping everyone including his supporters off, yes.|||Cowardly, he isn't treating other leaders like equals he treats them as if they were his superiors.|||Your Uncle needs a lesson in civics and international politics.|||Not like that, but he has not yet started his duty as a PRESIDENT....|||No he isn't he is being a world leader.

You guys have a bit of a cheek talking about bowing to leaders our PM John Howard basically bent and kissed Bush's **** and British PM Blair did the same then he talked them into going to Iraq.

Ever heard of karma.