Everybody gets it wrong on Bow-wowgate

Jake Tapper of ABC News reports that an academic buddy with expertise on the subject of the Japanese Empire, informs him that everyone is wrong on the whole Obama bowing to the Japanese Emperor thing.

For starters, the bow seen ’round the world was not unprecedented. Despite the howls rising from the Red States decrying this unacceptable “first”, President Richard Nixon bowed to Japan’s ceremonial leader when he traveled to Alaska to meet the American president in 1971. So, our friends on the right can settle down knowing that the precedent was first set by a GOP president.

On the other hand, contrary to the claims of the the White House, Obama was not obligated to bow per State Dept. protocol. What’s more, he kind of blew it in the execution where Nixon did it a whole lot better. Obama’s subsequent bow to the wife of the Emperor was much more along the lines of how you carry this off without looking like you’re diving for the ball as it heads out of bounds.

Can we now put this one to bed? The man was just trying to be culturally respectful and got a little carried away.  As Tapper’s pal put it, maybe we should be more focused on Obama figuring out how to get the dollar to stop bowing to the Japanese Yen.