Politico's Ben Smith has posted a clip of Nixon bowing to Mao -- see below. (It's more of a head bow, with the shoulders, but it's still a bow, and it was to a brutal totalitarian dictator.)
Please, can we all just shut the fuck up about Obama's bow to Japanese Emperor Akihito?
As Laura Rozen reports, the State Department says that Obama was "simply showing respect."
Correct protocol or not, it's hardly the big deal so many of his right-wing detractors are making it out to be. Was it a sign of American submission? Hardly. If you think that, you must think that America is so weak that a simple bow can bring it down. Besides, it was no worse than -- and certainly less embarrassing to the country (and the president) than -- holding hands with a Saudi tyrant.
But, then, conservatives think the U.S. president should basically be an arrogant prick, as should the country, and, given that they're trying to smear Obama with anything and everything at their disposal, they're not likely to give this up until they've bled this non-story to death.
As for the bow itself, Obama is no weaker for it, America is no weaker for it, and it's time to move on.
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