What is so TERRIBLE about the bow? (Of course referring to President Obama)

The President of the United States is of equal standing to the King of Saudi Arabia. He should never bow to the King just as the King would never bow to the President. Just a polite nod of the head is all the is required. Obama bowed to him as though he were a subservient subject. He made the U.S.A. look like puppets. Shalom~Adoniah

You fail to understand. It's not customary for a ruler of one nation to BOW in subjugation to the ruler of another nation. The two are equals. The Saudi king is NOT superior to the US president. It would be different if this were Japan where it may be customary for BOTH leaders to bow mutually as a greeting. Only subjects bow the the Saudi king.

Problem is, it wasn't the Saudi King's home, not even his country. Obama didn't bow to the Queen of England, nor to any other person in attendance, but to the Saudi King. That is strange in itself. Nobody else did it, and it appears the White House is insisting it didn't happen that way. It's hard though not to see a bow in it, lol. IMO, if he wanted to show respect, he should have shown it to all royalty in presence, not just to one. He simply didn't treat everybody the same and it was the strangest thing to do, but the worst for a President of the United States of America.

I don't know something else for conservatives to bytch about I suppose. It's nice to see a President traveling to other countries again and rebuilding our lost ties to other nations.

1. A president of the USA never bows to anyone. Protocol. 2. People suspect he was saying 'Salaam," and this only stirs up the tinhats that think he is a closet muslim. He shouldn't have done it. He screwed up, and his staff shouldn't have lied for him.

Actually bow to a S. king only performed by Saudi subject. No free person need to do that, as he does not have to accept this nonsense. Unless you regard royal family in a feudalistic society as legitimate authority.

Hello Lumenmom, A monarchy is defined by its embrace of 'superior ancestral lineage' as a justification for absolute dominance over others, and/or in certain instances the outward projection of the monarch as a representative of The Divine Creator (however "Divine" is defined) -- or both. In other words, the king or queen rules (absolutley) over others because his or her genes are declared superior, and he or she is the most senior authority of all. Our U.S. system of governance defers ONLY to a supreme being -- The Divine Creator, as the most senior authority. That is what is meant by the following quote from our Declaration of Independence. "... and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." That Obama bowed to any monarch demonstrates deference to that monarch's perceived 'right to dominate', and disrespects every facet of our founding -- our Constitution, the Founders & Framers, and 233 years of history and tradition based on the principles of our Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The U.S. Founding Documents declare, with impunity, that all of our citizens are equal under our law because of rights conveyed by The Divine Creator. In a monarchy, all rights are conveyed at the pleasure of the monarch -- hence, absolute rule!!! Still, what I believe is most egregious about Obama's action is that because the USA is a representative Republic (not a Democracy), and because the President is the most senior representative of every U.S. citizen, Obama deferred to King Abdullah's right to dominate every U.S. citizen! Everything that our president does is on behalf of the American People. So, Obama's protocol blunder projected the untenable, unspoken sentiment that the citizens of the USA are subordinate to the Saudi royal line, and that our rights come from other than our Creator. I, for one, am pretty darned peeved about that. King Abdullah rules over a nation that strictly adheres to policies that uphold beliefs that contradict every fundamental of my beliefs, and those of the whole of our nation. The U.S.A. was founded upon the principles of unalienable rights endowed by The Creator -- not a monarch, a senate, or a president -- but by God -- alone! As well as equality under the law. The Saudi empire's tenets define and persist, based on bias and favoratism under the law, where exceptions and leniencies are defined at the whim of the monarch and its assignees. The Saudi King isn't just the political leader of Saudi Arabia, he is also the head of the nation which proudly boasts to be the holy center of Islam. As well, Islam boasts that Muslims are superior to non-Muslims, and that certain Muslims are superior to other Muslims -- all based upon a system that does NOT respect lawful equality. Which of course suggests that Obama, while representing all U.S. citizens bowed in deference to the absolute ruler of the land which raises Islam up as it's most venerable law, as the sanctioned religion of the Saudi Royal line. These are slights (perhaps ??? based on ignorance or something else) that cannot go unchallenged! Add the Quranic tenets of Islam that Muslims are superior to non-Muslims, and we begin to see where the difference in cultural perceptions indicates that Obama bowed down to the superiority of Abdullah, as well as Islam. "Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. And those with him are hard against the disbelievers and merciful among themselves…" (48:29) "Ye are the best of peoples, evolved for mankind, enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong, and believing in Allah. If only the People of the Book had faith, it were best for them: among them are some who have faith, but most of them are perverted transgressors." (3:110) http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/Pages/Quran-Hate.htm On top of all else, Obama's team has the "audacity", after the fact, to declare that it wasn't a bow, when anyone with a set of working eyeballs could clearly see that Obama bowed down to the level of Abdullah's waist. How dare he, or any elected American public servant declare that we're all either blind or too stupid to have the wits and knowledge to interpret what we saw with our own two eyes. Imagine if anyone else usurped the right to tell us what we saw! We'd be fighting over who'd have the right to tell the clown to go to Hades first. Diplomacy is called an art for a reason. This latest blunder is but one more demonstration that our new president is in way over his head, to the detriment of the nation as a whole. There are limitless interpretations that can be made by Muslims all over the world about Obama's deference to the king of 'the land of Mecca'. Now that Obama has declared deference and subordination to an Islamic state, the next time something comes up, and Obama decides to stand in opposition to subjegation and forced subordination, he will be perceived as a hypocrite -- as will the nation that he represents -- which will no doubt, damage our negotiating position, regardless of the subject.

I have no idea.I didn't vote for Obama but this seems like such a petty thing for someone to complain about. There is too many more important things going on than this to worry about.

I am not American and I am not moslem but I came from a country that has over 90% moslem population maybe his bowing can be considered a sign of surrendering but in some traditions bowing is also a sign of respect such as bowing to someone of higher position or important position, maybe also richer when visiting his house then again we are talking about two rulers of two different countries whose position is equal despite of financial condition now I read that Obama is related to a moslem so he might have learned what bowing means and he does that for whatever reason I think it's the reason why he bows, not the bowing itself that some people are not sure of and not become comfortable with just my 2 cents, not trying to interfere with your country's politic

To bow to someone is showing submission..

For me at this point, the worst part is the STUPID explanation from the White House. He wasn't bowing but bending to shake someones hand. Perhaps a dwarf??? The pictures don't lie but apparently they think we are all just total morons! HE BOWED!! No other explanation!

seriously there was no need to create such a controversy for such a small issue, he didn't kneel down in front of the Saudi king

I think that Obama is a class act and that arrogance is the last thing that we need. One of his endearing qualities is that he is respectful to all people and I think that is the best way to be.

I do not see any thing wrong. bowing only proves Obama's man handling capabilities. As they say "when in Rome do like the Romans"