What is the problem with bowing deeply to Emperor Akihito?

Bowing is a sign of subservience. Maybe it's your opinion that the US should be subservient to Japan.

It's a sign things are going badly when even your friends (the NY Times) are criticizing your performance

Bowing is a sigh of subservience. Right. Noone, heard about "when in Rome?"
Here's a clue - the NY Times reports things as they happen. And the article was about what he faces in US relationship with Asia, not that he did a bad job. It's a big frickin uphill battle this Pres has on a LOT of fronts.
Bullheaded Americanism will get us NO-frickin-WHERE now. Obama has to repair all the damage that was done before he came on board.

damage - I am sure that will be the excuse used through the 4 short years of Obama's Presidency.
Anyhoo - when in Rome - you do as the Romans do, in Obama's case, the Romans are the other world leaders --> Web Link

The bow (which he messed up because you aren't supposed to shake hands when bowing) taken by itself, maybe no big deal, but add it to the list of international gaffes by this administration:

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claiming during the campaign Iran doesn’t “pose a serious threat to us” — arguing that “tiny countries” with small defense budgets can’t do us harm — and then promptly flip-flopped the next day, claiming, “I’ve made it clear for years that the threat from Iran is grave.”

Maybe his primary opponent put it best during the early campaign: Sen. Joe Biden - "The presidency is not something that lends itself to on the job training."

But, of course this is all nothing, compared to adding trillions to the public debt with a failed stimulus package, mishandling of Afghanistan, insistence on health care reform which will put us deeper in debt, shaky promise to close Gitmo and try KSM in Federal Court, continued association with Marxists and radicals,

You must have a lot of time on your hands to be digging up this lame garbage. You actually bring up bowing to the Saudi royals, after GW did the same and more? Just do an image search, "Bush and Saudis."

Why is it everyone here who doesn't like my criticism of Obama follows the same MO, denigrate me or just dismiss my post as crap, but then proceeds to say Bush did the same thing?
Reality check, if GW Bush, the "Worst President Ever" did the same, it is not a good thing!
On top of that, in this case, he didn't!

Because it is so irritating to see your crap attacks on Obama for trying to fix problems Bush created.
P.S. You're right, Bush didn't do the SAME as Obama:
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jimf01,

First it's "In God We Trust" not being printed on a wall and now it's Obama bowing to the Emporer of Japan. Your criticisms of Obama are ridiculous purely for the reason that they're so superficial and ineffectual. You focus on gestures and mottos and catch phrases rather than having anything of substance to say. Maybe you should go back to reading St. Sarah's book and leave reality to the rest of us.

Here's reality: Bush took our country from having budget SURPLUSES and a path toward paying OFF our national debt in 2000, at that time Spain owned more of our debt than China, and fast forward 8 years, the national debt has doubled to 11 trillion, we may never pay it off now, China hold more of our bonds than any country, and we're facing a budget crisis when the boomers start to retire, and it's Obama bowing to the Emporer of Japan that has weakened our country. It's astute analysis like this that shows why rightwingers like yourself are so delusional.

As for what the American people feel about the bow, fox news of all sources commissioned a poll on this topic and 67% of americans had no issue with Obama bowing (interestingly foxnews didn't bother to report the findings of their own poll on air...guess it didn't fit with the talking points handed down by the GOP), they saw it for what it was, a gesture of basic politeness in japanese culture. But common politeness is the last thing you expect from a group of people who have no problem with someone yelling liar at the president during a speech to congress.

To posi boy,

Agree that jimf01's criticism is superficial. You should also point out that under GW Bush the gap between rich and poor increased and the middle class shrunk. Then Bush bailed out rich failed bankers and let them keep paying high bonuses at the expense of the middle class during a recession. Sure Obama kept the bailouts going, but at least he is trying to cap the pay of failed executives, and helping the middle and lower class people with health care and credit reform.

The Obamaniacs are all rolling out with the same basic line, Bush trashed this country and Obama is TRYING to fix it. But so far we have deeper debt and higher unemployment, increasing foreclosures, etc.
He'd better TRY a little harder. The voters go with their wallet over failed promises and phony stimulus, with a topping of health care reform that doesn't kick in for years (except for the increased taxation part) and will further damage the economy.

Democrat supporters love to freeze that moment in time, 2000, when GW Bush entered office, as though it was candydrops and lollipops for all, sunshine and blue sky. Still hard to swallow that GWB beat Gore, and Clinton handed off a dotcom-bust recession and Al Qaeda on our doorstep. I could go in to how the bumbling Clinton admin is responsible for 9/11, but that's a whole 'nother thang.
Instead, I will remind that Bush reduced taxes across the board to restore the economy and reduce unemployment to effectively zero.
Reagan did the same thing, leading us out of a previous recession.

Why can't the Dems get it that you cannot spend money we do not have in a recession and expect to restore prosperity. The stimulus is a band-aid on a patient who is having a heart attack.

Yes, the Bush admin budgets overspent, and oversaw the housing collapse, but the Democrat controlled Congress voted for the proposals, voted to go to war, voted for anything Bush would throw out there, basically. And failed in their oversight capacity on banking, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and bear eaqual responsibility for bringing us to where we are.

You have the White House, you have the Congress. FIX IT! You have, like, about a year, max. HURRY UP.

A year, max? Who are you, Carnac the Magnificent?

Clinton only had a Dem congress for his first 2 years. His economic success was because Congress is charged with buegetary issues and Clinton had a REPUB Congress for his last SIX (6) years. Bush had a REPUB congress his first 6 years and an all DEM HOUSE and SENATE his last two years. The Dem congress like Maxine Waters & Barney Frank AND OBAMA were the people in charge of money. So they'll all been on the job for awhile.
Now to China. All the SUnday news shows with majority DEMs said, what was his purpose. He accomplished nothing. He left with the US diminished. Those were Dem statements. Another was 'it was like he hadn't planned it out...like his 'Olympic trip' that was ill-planned.
He better stay away from Copenhagen, or you'll have to sell your kids in slavery to be able to afford "poor China's" global clean-up.
We are going to be buried with our own warming expenses. China is NO LONGER "EMERGING"...they are stronger financially than we are. How STUPID and ANTI-American for us to 'assist' "POOP" China. IF he's going to SELL us out, he better stay home. We can't take any more failed trips.