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Americans Overwhelmingly Say Obama Bowing To Japanese Emperor Was Appropriate -- Even In A Fox Poll
President Barack Obama, the Emperor of Japan, the Empress of Japan
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Despite a lot of complaining by conservatives, the American people don't actually have any problem with President Obama bowing to the Emperor of Japan -- and that's according to the new Fox News poll.
Respondents were asked: "When the president of the United States is traveling overseas, do you think it is appropriate for him to bow to a foreign leader if that is the country's custom or is it never appropriate for the president to bow to another leader?"
The numbers: Appropriate 67%, Never appropriate 26%. Even a majority of Republican respondents were okay with the bow, by a 53%-40% margin. Democrats weigh in at 84%-9%, and independents 62%-30%.
It's very interesting that Fox actually gave the full context of the bow, telling respondents that it would be the country's custom. There's still no verdict, however, on Joe Biden bowing to Jon Stewart.
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fsudirectory
November 19, 2009 3:17 PM
Sucks when their own polls negate their spin, shocked they didn't just keep this one under wraps, like the Chamber of Commerce plans to do with its HCR study.
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Walter Mitty
November 19, 2009 3:19 PM
There is that mysterious 26(ish)% again...
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commie atheist
November 19, 2009 4:15 PM in reply to Walter Mitty
http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/2005/10/lunch-discussions-145-crazification.html
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WaitWut?
November 19, 2009 3:28 PM
Damnit. I hate it when they give me hope for humanity.
Meh. They'll ruin it before the day is over, or...the hour.
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jvwalt
November 19, 2009 3:33 PM
fsudirectory is probably right -- Fox News will bury their own poll because it doesn't fit what John Stewart so aptly called their "preconceived narrative." But just for sh*ts and giggles, let's imagine Glenn Beck's take on this:
"Don't you see? Don't you see how Obama's Socialist agenda is eating away at the very fabric of American society? Don't you see how he's turned our hearts and minds against everything that once made America proud? My friends (pause, look downward, choke), I fear for my country. My country, which I love (sniffle) soooo much. This poll proves that time is short, and that we must act now to keep Obama from throwing America on the trash heap of history.
"Also, it's a great time to buy gold."
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Lalo35adm
November 19, 2009 3:34 PM
Oh please, republicans simply found their own "Bushisms" to have fun with.
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Dorn76
November 19, 2009 3:35 PM in reply to Lalo35adm
English please?
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Lalo35adm
November 19, 2009 3:51 PM in reply to Dorn76
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushism
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Schmed
November 19, 2009 3:54 PM in reply to Lalo35adm
Non sequitur. Obama didn't screw anything up, either verbally or physically. The Repugs (and you?) are really stretching for anything "useful."
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Lalo35adm
November 19, 2009 3:58 PM in reply to Schmed
They are using the constant bowing (and the teleprompter among other things) for the same purpose left-wingers were using Bushisms. To keep the flame.
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Schmed
November 19, 2009 4:00 PM in reply to Lalo35adm
Constant bowing like Eisenhower, Nixon, and Reagan? Keeping the flame of the lame.
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Lalo35adm
November 19, 2009 4:06 PM in reply to Schmed
lol. i didn't expect you to get the point and you didn't disappoint.
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commie atheist
November 19, 2009 4:22 PM in reply to Lalo35adm
Oh, I get it. Us liberals were suffering form "Bush Derangement Syndrome," so we had to constantly find things that Bush supposedly did that were stupid, crazy or wrong so we could make fun of him, and that's the same thing that conservatives are doing to Obama now.
Of course, to believe that, you would have to believe two things:
1) George W. Bush never did anything that could objectively be viewed as stupid, crazy, or wrong, and
2) conservatives are capable of doing anything other than projecting their own inadequacies and failures onto liberals and Democrats.
Since you're wrong on both counts, I would have say that you're guilty of false equivalency.
Next.
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Lalo35adm
November 19, 2009 5:06 PM in reply to commie atheist
Ermmm, no, you don't get it, sadly.
Next.
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Maurizio
November 19, 2009 5:34 PM in reply to Lalo35adm
Your feeble attempts to equate liberal criticism of Bush with what's happening now probably fail to convince even yourself.
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fkaZk0sm0
November 20, 2009 1:22 AM in reply to Maurizio
of course, the failure of anyone to 'get' lalo's 'point' wouldn't have anything to do with lalo's inability to actually articulate a point.
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JNagarya
November 19, 2009 8:09 PM in reply to Lalo35adm
We get it, asshole: your effort to smear President Obama for having manners, instead of being an arrogant boor like Bushit, is STUPID.
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Schmed
November 19, 2009 4:03 PM in reply to Lalo35adm
See also: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x99nt-LbNFM
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Xantar
November 19, 2009 4:25 PM in reply to Lalo35adm
Left-wingers were using Bushisms to keep the flame alive? We had plenty of things to get mad at Bush about without making fun of his verbal slips. Especially towards the last two years of the Bush administration when it wasn't just left-wingers who were mad at Bush.
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JNagarya
November 19, 2009 8:12 PM in reply to Xantar
Torture is defined by law, not by the Bushit criminal enterprise. The law is the standard to which a nation of laws adheres.
Torture is illegal, always and everywhere. Torture cannot be made legal -- except in the lawless minds of America-hating liars.
Bushit falsely claimed that torture isn't torture. Is that merely a "Bushism"? Or is it an outright demonstrable lie?
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here
November 19, 2009 4:28 PM in reply to Lalo35adm
They are doing that, but not in the sense of "Bushisms" which are actual, demonstrable errors (as opposed to perceived errors). You are closer with regard to the teleprompter miscues though.
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JNagarya
November 19, 2009 8:08 PM in reply to Lalo35adm
Reagan used a teleprompter. No one falsely made -- or makes -- fun of it as if an insufficiency.
Bushit used a teleprmoter -- and even then fucked up.
Try again, asshole.
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Dorn76
November 19, 2009 4:00 PM in reply to Lalo35adm
Wikipedia is perfect for the lazy of mind.
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BillMcD
November 19, 2009 5:35 PM in reply to Dorn76
It's pretty handy for the lazy-of-encyclopedia-britannica-subscriptions, too. ;)
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JNagarya
November 23, 2009 2:44 PM in reply to BillMcD
But wikipeida is reliable: just ask Microsoft.
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JNagarya
November 19, 2009 8:06 PM in reply to Lalo35adm
The difference is that Bushit was and is a crass insult to maturity, whereas President Obama knows and respects the meaning of
M-A-N-N-E-R-S.
Tell us, asshole: How is being unnecessarily and childishly rude -- wholly lacking in manners -- adult and responsible?
Clue: in the organization of knowledge, "etiquette" is a subset of "ethics". Tell us how lacking in ethics is superior morality?
Learn this little bit of face-saving wisdom: STFU, asshole.
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AnswerFrog
November 19, 2009 3:36 PM
If America were some kind of imperialist hegemon, we'd still need to downplay our superiority and make a show of respecting our "partners". Bismark wisely saw that having everyone gang up against you would be a bad thing. Diplomacy becomes crucial.
The fact that America is now totally (inter)dependent upon its international relationships and is not in a dominant position just reinforces the need to be respectful and treat them as equal partners because we really do have to.
I get a sense that the wingnuts long for the good old days when we could send a gunboat and order people around.
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JNagarya
November 19, 2009 8:14 PM in reply to AnswerFrog
You mean wingnuts are boors and bullies?
I didn't know that. ;)
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Michael A
November 19, 2009 3:36 PM
Wow, I am actually shocked by these numbers. Maybe there is hope for the country after all. I get too jaded by the tea partiers and faux noise. Wow, just Wow.
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JNagarya
November 19, 2009 8:16 PM in reply to Michael A
Yeah, but, FOX obviously didn't include Sarah Palin among those polled. If they had, we'd know the REAL true narrative.
Film at 11:00 showing massive protests against something-decided-at-the-last-minute.
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Jimmy Blue
November 19, 2009 3:49 PM
I'm sure fox will come on later and say they put the numbers up by mistake. They should have been the other way around.
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Schmed
November 19, 2009 3:55 PM in reply to Jimmy Blue
Bingo.
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commie atheist
November 19, 2009 4:27 PM in reply to Schmed
No, they'll fire the person who worded the poll so badly, then they'll run a new poll with the question being: "Do you think it is appropriate for the President of the United States to show weakness by bowing to a a foreign leader?" That should give them the results they're looking for. Then they'll give those results, and say the earlier results were given incorrectly, and that these are the correct results.
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BillMcD
November 19, 2009 5:38 PM in reply to commie atheist
No, too specific to the situation. The reworded poll will be 'Do you think the President of the United States should show weakness to foreign leaders when traveling abroad?' and then that'll be used to reminisce fondly about how we could have had Mike Huckabee for President, and he'd be both strong and perfectly safe when traveling, cuz he wouldn't rely on those secret service wimps, he'd just bring Chuck Norris.
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Icon
November 19, 2009 4:02 PM
The wording of the question seems that they were trying to get at the more esoteric question of whether the President should adhere to American greeting customs abroad or use the host country's.
I applaud Fox News/Opinion Dynamics for asking a question where the answer will be intellectually meaningful.
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Iamtheocean
November 19, 2009 4:30 PM
I bet these poll results really burn Fox's ass : )
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Kenneth Thomas
November 19, 2009 4:35 PM
Even a blind squirrel finds a few ACORNS.
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GTFOOH
November 19, 2009 4:42 PM
They will probably reverse the numbers when their news division reports it!
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The Reluctant Conspiracy Theorist
November 19, 2009 4:46 PM
Since when did you people ever believe a FOX News poll?
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Zomb
November 19, 2009 6:07 PM in reply to The Reluctant Conspiracy Theorist
I suppose the might have inadvertently spliced in poll results from November 2008.
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JNagarya
November 23, 2009 2:47 PM in reply to The Reluctant Conspiracy Theorist
When they are anomolous and contrary to their context.
But, hey: since when did you NOT believe a FOX poll?
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JohnMcCSF
November 19, 2009 4:52 PM
REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR
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Leebot
November 19, 2009 5:01 PM
Perhaps another poll question could be "Do you think our president should give foreign heads-of-state spontaneous and friendly shoulder rubs?"
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theone718
November 19, 2009 5:04 PM
That was actually a pretty unbiased way of forming the question. Interesting.
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tonigo
November 19, 2009 5:06 PM
I think the implications of this poll are obvious - 67% of Fox viewers are socialist-loving freedom haters.
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WaitWut?
November 19, 2009 6:28 PM in reply to tonigo
Oh...yer gonna burn fer that one there!
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JNagarya
November 19, 2009 8:18 PM in reply to tonigo
And Muslims.
Born in Kenya.
Call Oily Tits! I think there's a lawsuit in there somewhere!
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slb
November 19, 2009 5:42 PM
Correct me if I am wrong, but it is not just the emperor that the Japanese bow to, is it? Don't they bow to each other as well? In other words, they use a bow as we would use a handshake or a nod of the head.
It would be wrong for the American president to bow in circumstances that would mean acknowledging a lower status than or subjugation to the person being bowed to. But in this case, the bowing was simply the customary polite greeting, and it would be wrong to have refused to do it.
At least he didn't vomit in the guy's lap.
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Zomb
November 19, 2009 6:10 PM in reply to slb
...or give Andrea Merkel an unsolicited backrub.
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aliesterrand
November 19, 2009 7:25 PM in reply to slb
Actually the depth of the bow is determined by the relative status of the individuals. The Emperor would never give more than a slight nod because of his high status. Since they are both heads of state, they are theoretically equal. If the president wished to bow, a slight nod would be appropriate.
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ohyeathatsright
November 19, 2009 5:49 PM
I will give them credit for this one. That's a well worded survey question. Now they only owe us the equivalent of our national deficit to make up the difference.
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kash79
November 19, 2009 6:09 PM
Next Poll Q: Should Obama bow to the leaders of the nations who attacked us?
Keep polling until public agree with you. Fox Motto.
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wake up
November 19, 2009 7:06 PM
I think they meant to say "grovel" instead of "bow," and it skewed the result.
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Nancy Irving
November 19, 2009 10:33 PM
Didn't Nancy Reagan curtsey to the Queen of England?
By the way, I was at the hospital yesterday and in the waiting room some moron was bloviating because the President had bowed "to the Communist Chinese."
I wonder, was this just some random moron, or is the conservative media now spinning the story this way?
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mikedrevguy
November 20, 2009 11:13 AM
Oh thank goodness 'Fair and Balanced' has been restored to the world of news: end sarcasm, here!
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par4
November 20, 2009 1:31 PM
Another sign of how far the Republic has fallen. If George Washington had to bow before George III it would have been to get his head cut off.
Presidents don't bow,ever.
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Nebton
November 20, 2009 2:26 PM in reply to par4
I'm not sure if that was meant to be sarcasm or not. If not, you should be aware that George Washington bowed to many, many people. It was the hand-shaking thing that he wasn't so much into.
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JNagarya
November 23, 2009 2:50 PM in reply to par4
Those secure in themselves are able to be courteous.
Those who shit on the living room rug and demand it be praised as an achievement refuse to have the manners exhibited by the civilized.
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Parthiban Yahambaram
December 15, 2009 3:54 PM
it is disappointing when people who claim to be 'christians' criticise president obama for this bow - by doing so he demonstrated to the world both his greatness and also that he has truly understood and appreciated the teachings of christ -
for as jesus said to the disciples -
'he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief as he that doth serve' and also -
'I am among you as he that serveth' Luke 22:26-27
true greatness lies in humility
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June 12, 2010 4:55 PM
If America were some kind of imperialist hegemon, we'd still need to downplay our superiority and make a show of respecting our "partners". Bismark wisely saw that having everyone gang up against you would be a bad thing. Diplomacy becomes crucial.
The fact that America is now totally (inter)dependent upon its international relationships and is not in a dominant position just reinforces the need to be respectful and treat them as equal partners because we really do have to.
I get a sense that the wingnuts long for the good old days when we could send a gunboat and order people around.
m65 kamagra
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