No American President Ever Bowed to a Foreign Leader — Until Now

Sunday, November 15, 2009 11:14 PM

By: Daniel Ruddy



This past Saturday when President Obama bowed to the Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko he created a new presidential precedent.

No president of the United States in the more than 230 years since the country was founded in 1776 had ever bowed to a member of royalty. That was until Barack Obama’s presidency.

In April, President Obama bowed to the Saudi king during the G-20 meeting. At the time Obama’s deferential bow was somewhat obscured, and the White House insisted that the president had simply leaned forward to shake the king’s hand.

But the recent demonstration of royal deference by the president to the Japanese emperor and empress suggests his earlier action was no aberration.

What should we make of this? Is it trivial to worry about what on its face could easily be interpreted as nothing more than a polite gesture by our president to respect the culture of a country?

America was founded on republican virtues -- small “râ€