Obama, Pledge, Anthem, Snopes, Bowing, Urban Legends

First from back during the campaign in Iowa:

snopes.com: Barack Obama and the National Anthem

Folks, this was from TIME magazine (left leaning).  Snopes (accused of leaning left) even says this is true, even though they try to back their way out of it by saying that despite what the U.S. Flag Code says that it is an “outdated” practice and not necessary.  Some have said that he put his hand over his heart later, but a YouTube video I found does not support this. 

Here is the latest Pic  taken (from somewhere, we are currently trying to verify where it is from):

 

Here is the etiquette taken directly from the U.S. Flag Code:

The Pledge of Allegiance and National Anthem

The pledge of allegiance should be rendered by standing at attention, facing the flag, and saluting.
When the national anthem is played or sung, citizens should stand at attention and salute at the first note and hold the salute through the last note. The salute is directed to the flag, if displayed, otherwise to the music.

The Salute

To salute, all persons come to attention. Those in uniform give the appropriate formal salute. Citizens not in uniform salute by placing their right hand over the heart and men with head cover should remove it and hold it to left shoulder, hand over the heart. Members of organizations in formation salute upon command of the person in charge.

 

The rest of the military officers are Saluting.  Let me add my own opinion here.  Obama is not just a civilian.  As POTUS he should observe the rules the military uses during official military ceremonies.  I recall seeing him salute other soldiers just like (real) Presidents in the past.   Other civilians in the picture are also observing the etiquette.  he is not.  That is a fact.

Urban Legends is part of ABOUT.COM which is a website that is part of the NEW YORK TIMES.  I would not trust that website especially concerning Obama.

Snopes is run by a person who is a registered independent and former Republican; and a Canadian citizen.  There are more complaints that the site is leftist than there are that it is rightist, but generally it is sort of down the middle.  The worst that I can opine is that if anything, they are just overly cautious to say anything negative or verify things at all.

Fact are stubborn things, these pictures are not doctored, no one that I have found has even put forth that complaint, and everyone else in the pictures is observing the proper historical proscribed etiquette.  So whether it takes some sort of prompt from the teleprompter or not, or if he just doesn’t particularly care about proper etiquette is moot.  He is the POTUS, a regrettable fact, but a fact nonetheless, and he should SNAP TO when it is time to observe time honored traditional etiquette.

To further the case of his repeated faux pas,

Picture of Obama with the King of Saudi Arabia, was it a bow or was it not a bow?  At the time the official position was that it was NOT a bow, Obama is just tall and was bending down to shake the man’s hand.  Although this is ridiculous to anyone not legally blind, the final nail in that coffin is:

Now unless we pull a Slick Willie and debate the definition of “bow”  is; this is a BOW.  The W.H. didn’t try to spin it, they refused to comment.  Then they commented that it is irrelevant.  I contend that it is COMPLETELY relevant, in fact it punctuates the whole issue I have with Obama. This is Obama with the Emperor of Japan.  The Japanese etiquette calls for a head NOD.  The emperor in Japan is completely ceremonial.  The position of Emperor of Japan really sort of lost standing after destroying the Nation in WWII.  The most interesting thing to me is that he did not bow to the Queen of England.  I think this is very illustrative. Taking this indisputable bow into account, I will make a few assertions

1. It lends more credence (as if any was needed) that the previous Bow flap was in fact a BOW.
2. taking all four pictures into account he is either woefully clueless as to proper etiquette of the POTUS (likely) AND/or
3. He does not identify himself as American, and/or he does not think that the office of POTUS is especially exceptional.
4. He really really does not care for our closest ally; England.  This is supported not only by the gifts of Wal-Mart DVDs and an iPod of his speeches, but also not bowing to the Queen, while definitively bowing to the leader of the house of Saud, and the Emperor of Japan.
5. Finally, and this is totally suppostion, and I will just throw this out there for what it is worth.  His stepfather was an Asian follower of Islam.  He might identify with those two “groups”.  Of course his Grandmother was an old white woman…so… who knows.

That is how I see it, there are the pictures, you all make up your own minds.

-KOOK

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UPDATE:

he did it AGAIN! To the president of China. On Youtube here Obama Bows to Hu Jintao Chinese Head of State

So that is three foreigners that the “leader of the free world” the “most powerful man in the world” the President of the United States, the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States of America, has prostrated himself to.  The Bow is a show of subservience. Period.

-KOOK