(2009-04-03) — When the most powerful man in the world bent at the waist, and lowered his gaze to greet a Muslim monarch at the G-20 summit in London this week, he could not have known how the gesture would catch on back home. But that’s just what’s happened.
The so-called ‘Obama Power Bow’ has become a new craze embraced by the rich and famous, as they continue to emulate everything about their chic new American president.
Saudi Arabian King Abdullah received the traditional expression of fealty and servitude from the U.S. commander in chief with evident glee, smiling broadly — his grin superseded only by that of French President Nicolas Sarkozy who looked on with apparent admiration and a touch of envy.
Now, from the offices of Wall Street to the corridors of power in Washington DC, executives, senators and corporate leaders have taken to kowtowing to their subordinates as an expression of ultimate power.
“When you approach a man and lower your head like that,” said one unnamed CEO, “and you expose your unprotected neck, it’s like you’ve got swagger on steroids. If the guy had a sword, he could chop your head off and you’re saying, ‘I’m not afraid of you’.”
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the president was not actually bowing, but “merely assumed the position before the Arab king in an effort to see if he could find common ground.”
41 responses so far ↓
1 RedPepper // Apr 3, 2009 at 3:16 pm
Yes, Your Majesty!
No, Your Majesty!
Tell us how low to go, Your Majesty.
Make some more decrees, Your Majesty,
Don’t let us up off our knees, Your Majesty.
Give us a kick, if it please Your Majesty!
Give us a kick, if you would, Your Majesty!
Oh, That was good, Your Majesty!
~ from The King and I (1951)
2 boberinyetagain // Apr 3, 2009 at 3:28 pm
We as a nation have been bowing to the Saudis for years now. He’s just keeping a tradition begun long ago and handed down for generations.
Funny Scott!
3 Laughing@You // Apr 3, 2009 at 3:58 pm
That’s embarrassing, but this is disgraceful! It reminds me of a prison romance.
http://media.photobucket.com/image/Bush%20holding%20hand%20saudi/myconsumerclub/231_saudi.jpg
Everthink?
4 Newsman // Apr 3, 2009 at 4:18 pm
I must agree with you boberinyetagain !
It’s a sad comment on the state of our technology that we are still dependent on those camel drivers. I would have them go back to their Bedouin days of sleeping with their camels under the desert stars !
The Bush family practically slept with them as well and should join them out in the desert !
5 The Two Malcontents » Saudi King Greeting Spurs Obama ‘Power Bow’ Craze // Apr 3, 2009 at 4:25 pm
[...] By Scott Ott [...]
6 gafisher // Apr 3, 2009 at 4:46 pm
If Obama has his way, this will catch on bigtime back home — in no time we’ll all be expected to reach for our ankles.
(Seriously, BaRookie is just a fountain of embarassments.)
7 Fred Sinclair // Apr 3, 2009 at 5:17 pm
There appears to be a commonality involved here. I don’t have it but I would like to see a similar list of the top ten poverty cities in Saudi Arabia. If there is such a list, then how is it possible under the alleged perfection of Islamic law? I lived at Tripoli Libya for a year and a half (1961-1963) they had no middle class. One either was of the elite (King Idris, City Mayor and other government functionaries) or you got your food from dumpsters behind a hotel. (literally)
TOP 10 POVERTY CITIES
What do the top 10 cities with the highest poverty rate all have in common?
Detroit, MI (1st on the poverty rate list)….hasn’t elected a Republican mayor since 1961;
Buffalo, NY (2nd)…hasn’t elected a Republican mayor since 1954;
Cincinnati, OH (3rd)…hasn’t elected a Republican mayor since 1984;
Cleveland, OH (4th)…hasn’t elected a Republican mayor since 1989;
Miami, FL (5th)…has never had a Republican mayor;
St. Louis, MO (6th)…hasn’t elected a Republican mayor since 1949;
El Paso, TX (7th)…has never had a Republican mayor;
Milwaukee, WI (8th)…hasn’t elected a Republican mayor since 1908;
Philadelphia, PA (9th)…hasn’t elected a Republican mayor since 1952;
Newark, NJ (10th)…hasn’t elected a Republican mayor since 1907.
Einstein once said, ‘The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.’
“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.
We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected and handed on to them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States when men were free”.
Ronald Wilson Reagan
8 mindknumbed kid // Apr 3, 2009 at 5:25 pm
TROLL WARNING : PREPARE TO BE OFFENDED BY MY USE OF “RELIGION”
Philippians 2:10
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
Perhaps Obonbon is just practicing for the day?
9 mindknumbed kid // Apr 3, 2009 at 5:27 pm
Hey, while he was all hunched over like that it would have been a dandy opportunity to spit on his footwear!
10 mindknumbed kid // Apr 3, 2009 at 5:51 pm
re#7 -Fred all that is is proof that all of those liberal demoncrat mayors are just trying to be good missionaries to help the down trodden, on account of our hatred they have all been the victim of every last one of us conservatives in the nation.
Why would you even think hat there is a correlation between the policies enacted by decades of liberal demoncrats and the poverty their constituents live in? It’s all on account of discrimination and “the man” taking advantage of them.
Any similar studies of cities that have been under republican mayors? It would be interesting to do some comparisons. The District of Columbia is usually under deminycricket control also, isn’t their plight similar to the cities you listed? With all of the wealth of the nation (so to speak) under the control of persons who work in their neighborhoods it likely isn’t as poor as the other cities, but when it comes to living conditions they have their share of trouble. I hear that the constitution and fiscal responsibility are not the only casualties you’ll find around there.
11 mindknumbed kid // Apr 3, 2009 at 6:24 pm
With all of the problems we are having nationally and globally, why not try putting together two teams made up of every elected republican and demoscratch in Washington and have them go head to head just like they do on “The Apprentice”? Better yet, divide up the employees in each federal agency and let them compete, we could fire all of the losers and maybe get some decent results. Maybe instead of presidents being elected we could let each candidate or party put together a team and tackle the problems, fire the losers and keep the best and brightest. Washington would never be the same.
12 onlineanalyst // Apr 3, 2009 at 7:14 pm
Ackbar demonstrates the Hokey Pokey to King Abdullah…or is it the latest dance move from Ellen DeGeneres? “You put your head in, you put your head out…”
Ackbar’s deference was a Freudian slip that NONE of the other G-20 attendees indulged in. No White House spin or damage control refutes Ackbar’s message.
Funniest thing: When it comes to banking CEOs though, he acts like the Thug-in-Chief. Doesn’t he realize that the T.E,A. parties are a demonstration against out-of-control budgets and bleeding debt/taxation? How much of his rhetoric and policy are designed to stir up class warfare? Mr. Obama, the pitchforks are aimed at the fascistic state that you and the power-mad in Congress are forming.
The media would prefer to portray the demonstrations as blowback to the financial sector when, in fact, it is anger over the government’s takeover of our financial system.
As one of the HotAir commenters observed, the biggest winners financially during the boom years have been Freddie and Fannie.
13 mindknumbed kid // Apr 3, 2009 at 7:57 pm
So do the muslim nutjobs around the globe see this as America bowing to them? From everything I have been able to learn about it, the answer is yes. If that doesn’t bother you at least a little, something is wrong.
Instead of seeing it as Obadmove bowing to the Sudzi King, try to think of it as him bowing to the planners and perpetrators of 9/11. Isn’t that what the muslim jihadists around the world see? One small stoop for America, one giant victory for a non-god they think is All-ah that and a bag of popcorn.
Oh yeah, he’s a Christian…
( Yes, that is correct, as an alleged representative of Jesus Christ, Barry just bowed to another god.) Awww, C’mon now mindknumbed - can’t we all just get along?
Not if Jesus Christ is real in your life!
14 baragirl // Apr 3, 2009 at 8:09 pm
Kinda funny ,aina hey? 0bama slobbers all over one of our enemies while Michelle deliberately insults the Queen of Great Britain.
Larry King grunting “Don’t touch, don’t touch ,Oh she ’s touching her again!!”
Look at the expression on the face of the gentleman on the left of the picture.Shock and horror.
15 baragirl // Apr 3, 2009 at 8:13 pm
What singing Group was it that used to wear those cheap shiny suits?
Polyester,I’d say.
Why didn’t 0bama just go ahead and wear one of his bathrobesand a sheet on his head? Fit in better
16 mindknumbed kid // Apr 3, 2009 at 8:21 pm
Oh the pain, the humiliation! I’ve got a comment in moderation again…reminds me of the old days. Oh dear, what have I done?
17 Beerme // Apr 3, 2009 at 8:31 pm
I don’t know, the Obama pic reminds me more of prison love than the Bush pic…but maybe I should defer to the Laughing One on this subject…
At any rate it appears that Obama may have already out-hicked Bush’s eight years of faux pas, in a mere 3 months!
c’est provincial
18 mindknumbed kid // Apr 3, 2009 at 8:40 pm
re#12 - Can’t be that, he still ain’tpulled his head out.
19 mindknumbed kid // Apr 3, 2009 at 8:42 pm
Maybe he dropped his blackberry (portable teleprompter)?
20 Laughing@You // Apr 3, 2009 at 8:56 pm
I see your point Beerme; but, look again at Dumbyah’s eyes. I did say romance, and that sure looks like true love to me.
“… Obama may have already out-hicked Bush’s eight years …” No chance, that’s the only thing at which Bush excelled!
Everthink?
21 camojack // Apr 3, 2009 at 9:07 pm
mindknumbed kid // Apr 3, 2009 at 7:57 pm
So do the muslim nutjobs around the globe see this as America bowing to them? From everything I have been able to learn about it, the answer is yes. If that doesn’t bother you at least a little, something is wrong.
Instead of seeing it as Obadmove bowing to the Sudzi King, try to think of it as him bowing to the planners and perpetrators of 9/11. Isn’t that what the muslim jihadists around the world see? One small stoop for America, one giant victory for a non-god they think is All-ah that and a bag of popcorn.
Oh yeah, he’s a Christian…
It bothers me more than a little…the guy is an embarrassment.
“Obadmove” sums it up quite well indeed…
22 Darthmeister // Apr 3, 2009 at 9:25 pm
Bingo, Beerme!
“Blair was denigrated as Bush’s poodle (by elitist liberals and the media), although his eloquence and influence over Bush were clear to all. In contrast, Gordon Brown is embarrassingly obsequious to Obama, in a way Blair never was around Bush. And in further contrast, Obama shows an airy, polite disdain at being courted in such grubby fashion—while Bush was downright magnanimous in taking advice from Blair.” Victor Davis Hanson
23 JamesonLewis3rd // Apr 3, 2009 at 9:28 pm
Yet another landmark has been achieved via yet another first in the annals of ineptitude:
BHO, the tireless partier, is the first president to have five straight months of decline in real employment following his election.
24 onlineanalyst // Apr 3, 2009 at 9:37 pm
What a difference a change of administrations makes to a G-20 meeting! The “change” does not favor liberty and prosperity.
25 onlineanalyst // Apr 3, 2009 at 9:51 pm
Heh, beerme, your comment at #17 underscores my remark about Ackbar doing the hokey pokey.
(Did Ackbar really kiss Abdullah’s ring?)
The Obama charade of leadership and statesmanship wends its way across Europe, and the media band played on…sort of like the situation portrayed in Cabaret.
26 da Bunny // Apr 3, 2009 at 11:13 pm
And, Abdullah is thinking…”It’s good to be the King.”
Actually, it appears that Barry is just demonstrating the “position” that he’ll be telling his “subjects” to assume shortly.
27 camojack // Apr 3, 2009 at 11:16 pm
Another perspective.
28 baragirl // Apr 4, 2009 at 12:28 am
Got a question for bober. If you won a lottery worth Five Million Dollars ,how much of it would you say you would owe 0bama,oh and all those poor folks ?
3%?,39%,? 50%? 75%?
Why you are so generous with “Rich People’s Money ” I’ll bet you would just hand the whole thing over to the IRS.
29 Darthmeister // Apr 4, 2009 at 9:53 am
Britain’s left-of-center The Guardian parses the great O’rator, the Emperor Obama. The full analysis can be found here.
Rejoice folks, THE NEW WORLD ORDER, is on its way. Peace will guide the planets and love will steer the stars [cue 5th Dimension's "Age of Aquarius" song]
30 onlineanalyst // Apr 4, 2009 at 9:58 am
DaveinBoca, a retired Arabist with State who knows quite a bit about political ideologies,posted this analysis of the Obama method at Pat Santy’s blog:
The MSM are following the Gramsci model of postmodern discourse, basing news on disrespect of traditional authority and government while providing the agitation/propaganda to advance issues leading to the desired result.
Instead of the rule of the [proletariat]’s action arm back in Gramsci’s day, the elites of “populist” government supervision of the economy and levelling the incomes and opportunities available to all sorts of high achievers to reward heretofore “left-behinds.”
Sadly, the left-behinds often use this money, as they did in the Community Reconstruction Act [?], to act in short-sighted ways en masse, leading to our current “crisis.”
Which “crisis” is being employed politically to arouse class envy and exacerbate social tensions to whip up a “sky is falling” mobocracy similar to the Global Warming Hoax [which was only slowed a bit by disastrously cold winters the last two years].
The Carter-era CRA was expanded under Clinton, enforced by Reno’s federal threats to banks that did not lend to formerly redlined borrowers, protected and pushed by Fannie and Freddie, who denied and refused the need for oversight, sold to mortgage lenders as sound government-backed securities, bundled and over-leveraged to rid the books of toxic assets, and…the house of cards came tumbling down.
The Obama administration and the Dems are working overtime to paint a target on the insurance companies and the banks, yet today’s headline points to the obscence tax-funded bonuses awarded to Fannie and Freddie, the perpetrators of the whole Ponzi scheme.
Government interference in the market created this problem. Until CRA is rescinded and banks are permitted to assess risk when evaluating potential borrowers, the problem will not go away. Protecting the defaulters who never should have been given a mortgage simply kicks the can down the road.
An investigation of some of the key players at Fannie and Freddie and its enablers, including Raines, Frank, Waters, Gorelick, Emanuel, Johnson, Dodd and others who don’t readily come to mind, should be demanded by our tax-burdened citizens.
Obama and the rest of the Alinsky-ites may be stirring popular anger against AIG and banks, many of which did not want or need TARP funding, but the real anger is rising against Congress and Obama as this charade continues.
31 Darthmeister // Apr 4, 2009 at 10:11 am
baragirl,
Bet you didn’t know bober and the rest of these egalitarian, compassionate trolls have been voluntarily sending in another five percent of their income, on top of their present income tax burden, to the IRS to make good on their vision of a velvet gulag which is committed to the socialist vision of liberally spreading of misery among the masses vis a vis “compassionate” government edicts and confiscatory redistributive taxation schemes. Why wait until the government taxes them to create their socialist utopia when they can immediately act on their own conscience of a better and more prosperous nation through greater taxation, right?
Larry King’s response to the idea that people are individuals and government should not be in the business of engaging in group-think to advance a certain political or social agenda: “But someone (the government, i.e. Obama) should think for the masses!”
Of course, being the elitist liberal that he is, Larry King doesn’t see himself as a part of “the masses.”
32 Darthmeister // Apr 4, 2009 at 12:27 pm
To be filed under “More liberal liars and the lies they tell”:
The president’s e-mail list of 13-million resulted in just 114,000 individual pledges — a response rate of less than 1 percent. Party workers secured another 100,000 signatures by hitting the streets. The DNC arrived at its 642,000 figure by making three photocopies of each petition so that every signer’s senators and representative could get one.
DNC spokesperson Natalie Wyeth responded: “This effort was designed to give our supporters the tools to influence their elected officials. Of course we delivered a pledge to each of their members of Congress — 642,000 pledges. That’s what we said we were delivering and that’s what we did.”
When asked about the impression in the DNC press release that there were 642,000 unique pledges, she offered no response.
Interesting how the national socialist media played along with this politically motivated lie, eh? Kinda Orwellian in nature particularly since the Obamaton lap dogs in the lamestream media fanned the embers of this lie for days.
Powerlineblog observed: “This method of counting opens up a whole world of possibilities. A 5-4 defeat in the Supreme Court could become a 8-5 victory by making a copy of the dissenting opinion. Or-we can always hope-maybe Obama’s $3.6 trillion budget is really only $1.2 trillion, photocopied twice.”
Buwahahahaha, the Emperor Obama has no clothes and the braindead Obamatons continue to shuffle their way over the cliff!
33 Laughing@You // Apr 4, 2009 at 2:30 pm
“The president’s e-mail list of 13-million resulted in just 114,000 individual pledges — a response rate of less than 1 percent. Party workers secured another 100,000 signatures by hitting the streets. The DNC arrived at its 642,000 figure by making three photocopies of each petition so that every signer’s senators and representative could get one.”
Actually (no name called), the petition had three addressees, and a copy was sent to each addressee.
114,000 is a lot, if all thirteen million received the request less than 48 hours before it was required.
Then, there are some lazy, good for nothing Democrats who, like me, didn’t bother to answer the request. I didn’t answer because my Congresswoman, and one of my Senators are Democrats. The other is a “NO” Party member and I figured “what’s the use”, Wing-Nuts pretty much vote in Lock-Step” anyway.
That was before I considered that some, would be, propagandist from the Contrary Party would seize on this internal matter in order to distort the outcome.
I was derelict in my duty to mobilized that small part of the Obama base with which I have been charged. Your comments today have “encouraged” me to do a much better job!
You, and others here are always trying to depict Democrats, and other Progressives as having some conspiracy, or “Grand Plan”. Actually Democratic voters are not nearly as ideological as our counterparts. We don’t have DINOs. (but then, I guess there is Lieberman!)
I could have announced my intention to support the John McCain of 2000, should he have won the nomination, to my Democrat friends, and they would have, in the end, respected my decision without ostracizing me.
Everthink?
34 onlineanalyst // Apr 4, 2009 at 8:27 pm
This proposed legislation should rile all sides of the political spectrum. Is America the new China?
35 da Bunny // Apr 4, 2009 at 9:45 pm
More “takeover” tactics by the Obamarxist. Riled yet?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123879833094588163.html
36 JamesonLewis3rd // Apr 5, 2009 at 6:44 am
Over the last few days, I’ve observed a couple of BHO’s press conferences and read some recounts of his adolescent antics over yonder because he is POTUS and I found him to be a profound embarrassment on all levels.
~~Matthew 16:1-4
37 JamesonLewis3rd // Apr 5, 2009 at 6:59 am
Klaatu: I won’t resort to threats, Mr. Harley. I merely tell you the future of your planet is at stake.
Klaatu: I’m worried about Gort. I’m afraid of what he might do if anything should happen to me.
Helen: Gort? But he’s a robot. Without you, what could he do?
Klaatu: There’s no limit to what he could do. He could destroy the Earth.
38 gafisher // Apr 6, 2009 at 3:29 pm
Klaatu Obama Nictu!
39 Bow-Gate | Red Renee // Apr 8, 2009 at 12:03 am
[...] House honk Robert Gibbs offered his usual evasive and barely coherent response: “(Obama) merely assumed the position before [...]
40 Ironic Surrealism v3.0™ » Israel and the US Between A Barack and a Hard Place // Apr 16, 2009 at 3:39 pm
[...] inserts tasty snark at ScrappleFace Yes, Your Majesty! No, Your Majesty! Tell us how low to go, Your Majesty. Make some more decrees, [...]
41 Junk Panic! » Blog Archive » White House: Obama Bow Was Attempted Head Butt (Scrappleface) // Apr 21, 2009 at 4:42 pm
[...] receive just a mild handshake.” Yesterday, the White House said the president didn’t bow, but merely stooped to make eye contact with the diminutive Arab dictator. As the video demonstrates, Mr. Obama [...]
You must log in to post a comment.