WASHINGTON, D.C., 2009-11-16 — The White House has acknowledged that President Obama did bow when he met the Japanese Emperor last week, unlike the time he did not bow when he met the Saudi King.
“Yes, he did bow deeply to the Emperor, something a U.S. President – who is a head of state – has never done before,” said David Axelrod, the Senior Spin Advisor to President Obama. “He did that to show he is not George Bush and that he has a fresh approach to foreign policy.”
“When he did not bow to the Saudi King in April,” he continued, “the President was either trying to tie his shoe laces, or perhaps trying to see what shoes the Saudi King was wearing under that dress. But a U.S. President would never bow to a foreign king.”
Isn’t bowing to the Japanese Emperor a sign of subservience, a shocking display of fealty to a foreign potentate, asked a reporter?
“No, it is a sign of willingness to have a dialogue,” said Axelrod, “even with a rogue state such as Japan.”
Why, the reporter asked, does Obama bow to the Japanese Emperor but put his arm paternalistically on the backs of other world leaders such as Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy? Isn’t the arm on the back a sign that he thinks he is superior to the other leaders?
“No, that’s not what the arm on the back means,” said Axelrod. “Sometimes the arm on the back means the other leader has some lint on his jacket, and sometimes it means that the President has immediately become best friends with a leader he has just met for the first time.”
So did Michelle immediately become best friends with the Queen of England, the reporter asked?
“Yes, she did,” said Axelrod, “and the Queen did too because she asked Michelle to stay in touch.”
