More reader comments about President Obama's bow to Japan's emperor

Many of the initial responses to the blog post about President Obama’s bow to the emperor of Japan last weekend were -- critical would be too tame a word -- downright searing in their comments.

But in the last few days, commenters came out of the woodwork supporting the president’s gesture of respect, however overdone or flawed, or condemning those who were quick to cast the first stone criticizing the gesture as a gaffe. Yet even with this show of patriotism, the disapproving comments have not ceased.

In the spirit of this blog’s traditional purpose -- celebrating and printing our readers' opinions -- we have printed 10 comments below from those more tolerant of the gesture. If you'd like to read the harsher comments,  click here.

Frank Morgan wrote: Respect for others is a great virtue which I rejoice to see in our President.

Jayaprakash wrote: It is a diplomatic win over Japan's hearts by this simple action. Obama is more diplomatic than we think.

Zach wrote: A bow? People are calling for impeachment over a bow?!

Joe Bell wrote: The handshake/bow was a good mixture I think, as it is custmary for Americans to shake hands when greeted, and Japanese to bow when greeted, so a mixture of the two was mutualy respectable. Americans are too proud, and in this day and age, we have no right to be.

konnichiwa wrote: I love how there are a ton of people here throwing around casual racism and then claiming Obama is the one ruining the United States because he bowed to another official. It seems that a sign of respect clearly upsets a lot of folks in the good ol' US of A

scottosan wrote: Obama! Don't shake hands if your going to bow... either shake hands and don't bow or bow and don't shake hands and keep your hands at your sides…I hate your morals and everything else that you stand for but hey, at least you tried.

Frederico Franca wrote: THERE'S NO LONGER ROOM FOR YOUR ATIQUATED POINTS OF VIEW! OPEN YOUR EYES! TAKE A LOOK A YOUR PRESIDENT ICONOCLAST GESTURE AND GET PROUD!

Rick Cain wrote: Uhm, Japan is an ally. We should respect their emperor. There's no need for cold war style posturing. Heck Donald Rumsfeld shook hands with Saddam Hussein, now THAT was embarassing in retrospect.

Dee wrote: Courtesy doesn't cost a thing, and anyone with just a tiny bit of knowledge of Asian courtesy would recognize the bow as being courteous. 

Pedeye wrote: Finally a president whose biggest foreign policy gaffes are showing too much respect for others. Beats getting more soldiers killed for dubious or manufactured WMD reasons.

You can leave your own comments below.

-- Kelsey Ramos

Photo: President Obama greets Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko during his first Asian tour as president. Credit: Mandel Ngan / AFP / Getty Images

Top 10 reader comments about President Obama's bow to Japan's Emperor Akihito

A post on our Top of the Ticket blog today about President Obama’s greeting of Japan’s Emperor Akihito has already generated over 1,000 comments from readers.

This weekend, the president has done a lot of bowing to show respect on his first Asia tour as president. The photo above was taken after the president gave a speech in Tokyo's Suntory Hall. However, the emperor's bow was a little different. Times staffer Andrew Malcolm, who wrote the post, allowed the photo (and the video) of Obama’s gesture to speak for itself -- see it here.

We mostly enjoyed what readers had to say about the president’s greeting -- a mixture of outrage and patriotism, snarky one-liners and more serious diatribes.

Here are the top 10 best comments so far (leave your own below):

1. Mitch wrote: Obama to Emperor of Japan: "May I shine your shoes, Sir?"
2. Plain Jane wrote: Obama WASN'T bowing - He SAW a Japanese Yen on the floor and went to pick it up because it might be Worth More Than Our Dollar!
3. Veteran wrote: Was that before or after he appologized for World War 2?
4. bmcc wrote: Palin would have winked at him. You betcha!
5. Maripo wrote: I'm surprised he didn't curtsy.
6. MP wrote: Whatever happened to the good old days when we could count on a Republican in the White House to puke on foreign dignitaries?
7. marty1234 wrote: I wish are first black president had been a rapper at least he'd have some attitude...
8. Wax on wax off wrote: Look eye! Always look eye! -Mr. Miyagi
9. helen roach wrote: I wonder why they didn't run the dust mop over the floor. It would have looked much nicer in the picture.
10. Xavier wrote: See, Obama is not a Muslim. He's a shintoist.

What are your comments on the president’s bow to Japan’s emperor? Tell us below.

-- Kelsey Ramos

Photo: President Obama after a speech at Tokyo's Suntory Hall. Credit: Reuters

Obama wins the Nobel and $1.4 million -- what should he spend the money on?

This year's Nobel Prize brought about some strange bedfellows. Friday morning, when news surfaced that President Obama had been awarded the peace prize, critics from the left, the right and even the Taliban called foul.

"We condemn the award of the Nobel Peace Prize for Obama," a Taliban spokesman told the AFP news agency from an undisclosed location. "When Obama was elected president, we were hopeful he would keep his promise to bring change. But he brought no change, he has continued the same old strategy as [President George W.] Bush."

Many of the comments on blog posts around the Web, including here at The Times, wondered what Obama had accomplished in the short period of time he's been in office.

But the cold, curious fact is he won it. Members of the Nobel committee, who heard gasps when they  announced him as the winner, aren't about to change their minds. Further, Obama accepted the honor and said he felt "humbled" to win it.

So the question now becomes, what should Obama do with the money that comes with the prize? $1.4 million can't cure cancer or build a football stadium in L.A., but surely it can do something. The White House has said the president plans to donate it to charity, but can that really make a difference?

Share your thoughts on what you think the president should spend the money on.

-- Tony Pierce

Photo: A sand sculpture in Puri, India, created by artist Sudarshan Pattnaik to congratulate Obama for winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Credit: EPA

Does Obama deserve the Nobel Peace Prize?

It took a Nobel Peace Prize for the former community organizer, Barack Obama, to unite the normally fractious political spectrum that ranges from liberals to conservatives and from Democrats to Republicans. Everyone, including the White House, was shocked by the win.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee acknowledged that it was moving quickly to give Obama the award, before he had done much more than lay out guidelines for his new diplomatic role.

Obama’s outgoing approach and desire to broaden the diplomatic exchange is in sharp contrast to his predecessor, George W. Bush, and that too played into the selection.

But Obama has had his accomplishments. He has given major speeches in Cairo on the need to recognize the Muslim world and in Prague on halting the spread of nuclear weapons. He helped get a strong United Nations resolution on nuclear nonproliferation.

He has also spoken forcefully on the need to act to curb greenhouse gas emissions and to fight global warming, though his administration concedes that Congress will probably not act before the next international climate conference in Copenhagen in December.

Obama scrapped a Bush proposal to build a missile shield for Eastern Europe, a step Russia had sought.

 -- Michael Muskal

Photo: U.S. President Barack Obama speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House after being awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Friday, Oct. 9, 2009. Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for "extraordinary efforts" to strengthen global diplomacy just nine months into his term and without the record of achievement of past laureates. Credit: Joshua Roberts/Bloomberg

Should the Supreme Court allow a Christian cross in a war monument?

 
This 75-year-old wooden cross, now covered with a tarp, was at the center of a heated debate in the U.S. Supreme Court today.

The cross, which is located atop a rock in California’s Mojave National Preserve near the Nevada border, has honored fallen World War I soldiers since 1934 but came under fire a decade ago after park employee Frank Buono protested its potential 1st Amendment violation of establishment of religion.

The land on which the cross sits was recently transferred from the national preserve to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, but the Supreme Court justices debated today whether that solves the issue. In the past, the park has turned down a request to display a Buddhist symbol. The Obama administration agreed with the VFW and urged the court to uphold the display of the cross while it is under private control.

An excerpt from the article by David G. Savage:

"This is a stand-alone cross," said Peter Eliasberg, the [American Civil Liberties Union in Southern California] lawyer. "The cross is the predominant symbol of Christianity," he said, and it should not be treated as though it is the single, favored religious symbol.

Justice Antonin Scalia took sharp exception to that comment.

The cross "is the most common symbol" to honor the war dead, he said, calling it an "outrageous conclusion" to say the cross is limited to honoring only soldiers who were Christians. By the end of the hour, it was not clear what issue the justices will decide. They could decide whether the transfer of the cross to the VFW solved the legal problem. Or they could go further back and decide whether it was constitutional to erect the cross on public land.

So what are your thoughts? Is it being too politically correct if we disallow a private World War I monument with a Christian cross? Or does the cross' presence in the preserve wrongly discriminate against other religions by preventing their symbols, like a Buddhist one, from being represented as well?

-- Kelsey Ramos

Photo: This cross, now covered in tarp, atop a rock in California’s Mojave National Preserve has been a memorial to fallen World War I soldiers since 1934. Credit: Liberty Legal Institute / Associated Press

Obama holds third security session on Afghanistan, Pakistan

Eight years after the start of the war in Afghanistan, President Obama will hold his third top-level meeting with his security team to discuss what to do next and whether to send more troops.

Obama will again meet privately with his national security team today, with two more sessions on tap. The president met with congressional leaders Tuesday and recently met face-to-face with his commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal. While many participants have been careful not to speak publicly, leaks and lobbying have given an extraordinary look inside the issue and how the policy is evolving.

The immediate topic of debate is the military recommendation that as many as 40,000 additional U.S. troops are needed in Afghanistan to ensure that the Taliban is prevented from regaining power. Currently, the U.S. has authorized 68,000 troops and NATO 40,000 more. The fear is that the Taliban will allow Al Qaeda to return to Afghanistan from their safe havens in Pakistan, broadening the terrorist group's ability to recruit, train and act.

Lawmakers haven't been shy about making their views known after their session with Obama. Republicans in general are supportive of the military view while Democrats are backing the president's call to first decide the scope of the mission before committing more resources. The White House has made it clear there is no plan to withdraw from Afghanistan nor to cut a large number of troops. The signal is the U.S. will take a middle course while rethinking how far it wants to go in nation-building, but it is the details that matter and those are being considered.

While the public is not directly involved in the meetings (except through its representatives), the mood as measured by recent polls is turning against the war. According to a new Associated Press-GfK poll, public support for the war is at 40%, down from 44% in July.

After the jump check out the latest Twitter updates from Michael Muskal, and your comments.

Schwarzenegger becomes latest Republican to back Obama's healthcare overhaul plan

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today became the latest Republican to back an overhaul of healthcare, as the Obama administration gathers support for what it hopes will be the final bipartisan push.

In a prepared statement, Schwarzenegger, generally more liberal on social issues than most of his fellow Republicans, stressed the need for action. "I believe in the vital importance of this issue and that it should be addressed through bipartisan cooperation."

The governor, who is termed out, cited goals he shares with Obama, such as slowing the growth in healthcare costs and ensuring a strong economic recovery. "I appreciate his partnership with the states and encourage our colleagues on both sides of the aisle at the national level to move forward."

Schwarzenegger joins the bipartisanship parade of healthcare reform backers that includes former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, the former Health and Human Services secretary in the Bush administration. New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, elected as a Republican but now an independent, has also backed reform.

After the jump check out the latest Twitter updates from Michael Muskal, and your comments.

Obama gets medical consultation in healthcare reform pitch

President Obama told doctors this morning that he was confident that Congress would move on healthcare reform this year, though he acknowledged that there were details still to be worked out.

“You look spiffy in your coats,” Obama told the crowd of about 150 in the Rose Garden, most of whom were wearing lab coats. He praised the doctors as being among the medical professionals who know first-hand how important it is to make changes in the healthcare system.

The Senate Finance Committee is expected to pass its version of healthcare reform soon, making it five bills that have worked their way through committees in both houses. The Senate will have to reconcile two bills and the House three.

But among details still to be worked out is what shape a public option might take, whether robust, a government-sponsored health insurance program, some form of cooperatives or just an exchange to make insurance costs more transparent.

The final version of the House bill is expected to have the strongest public option; the version in the Finance Committee is the weakest. Other issues include how to pay for the changes and what consumer protections to demand from the insurance companies.

-- Michael Muskal

Photo: Shawn Thew / EPA

After the jump, check out the latest Twitter updates from Michael Muskal, and your comments.

A 'productive day' at Iran nuclear talks

Iran and representatives of six major powers met today in Geneva to discuss the Islamic Republic's disputed nuclear program. The highlight was a meeting between U.S. and Iranian delegates, a rare one-on-one encounter.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called it "a productive day," but added the United States wants to see some concrete steps. President Obama is likely to say something similar when he speaks.

But the bottom line is that the parties will continue talking, an optimistic sign. And, Iran again said it is willing to let a uranium enrichment plant near Qom be inspected, a move designed to ease fears that its nuclear program includes producing weapons.

For the latest news, click here

For a primer on the issues, click here

After the jump check out the latest Twitter updates from Michael Muskal, and your comments.

Latest from @latimesmuskal on Twitter (most recent postings first)

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-- Michael Muskal

Photo: Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, at a news conference in Geneva. Credit: Fabrice Coffrini  / AFP/Getty Images

Obama ponders Afghanistan action

President Barack Obama met this morning with NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen to mainly discuss Afghanistan. Currently, the U.S. has authorized 68,000 troops and NATO about 40,000. U.S. military commanders have indicated that as many as 40,000 more troops will be needed.

But Europe is wary of sending more troops, as are some members of the Obama administration. Obama has announced he is weighing the future of U.S. policy on Afghanistan, whether to consider it primarily a military mission or a state-building one. That process could take weeks.

"This is not an American battle, this is a NATO mission as well," Obama told reporters this morning. "And we are working actively and diligently to consult with NATO at every step of the way."

Of course, our main focus today has been our cooperation in Afghanistan," the secretary-general said.  "I say 'our' focus deliberately because our operation in Afghanistan is not America's responsibility or burden alone.  It is and it will remain a team effort."

The pair also discussed relations with Russia and the recent cancellation of a missile shield for eastern Europe.

For a primer on Afghanistan, see: http://bit.ly/F0Ghj

After the jump, check out the latest Twitter updates from Michael Muskal, and your comments.

Twitter updates on Obama, Afghanistan, healthcare and Chicago's Olympic bid

The White House announced today that President Obama will travel to Copenhagen to pitch his hometown of Chicago as the site of the 2016 Olympics. Just weeks ago, Obama had ruled out such a trip because of the press of his other work, especially healthcare reform.

But even though Afghanistan and Iran have moved up on the to-do list, Obama is taking time to jet across the pond to personally lobby the International Olympic Committee, a first for a U.S. president. For Obama, the visit is a chancy move, putting himself on the line. What can he bring to the table that other Chicago celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Michael Jordan haven’t already done?

Those looking for secret message argue that Obama wouldn’t be going if he thought that Chicago would lose. But the decision is not pre-ordained, and the competition is expected to be fierce with Rio de Janiero, the odds-on favorite because the Olympics have yet to visit Latin America.

Still, an Olympic bid is a break from the worry over Thursday’s nuclear talks with Iran, this week’s congressional action on healthcare and the constant worry over whether to send more troops to Afghanistan.

After the jump check out the latest Twitter updates from Michael Muskal, and your comments.

South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson yells 'You lie!' to the president

It was a perfect storm of hot buttons that evoked an utterance of such negativity that it turned heads. President Barack Obama was giving a speech to Congress and he started talking about healthcare and illegal immigrants and money, and unexpectedly, Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina spoke up.

"You lie!" the Republican congressman blurted out on the floor of the House immediately after the president said: "the reforms I’m proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally."

It was Rep. Wilson who had been reinforcing the belief that the healthcare reform would include the so-called Death Panels. He called it an "end-of-life counseling program, which has been correctly highlighted by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as a program which could lead to seniors being encouraged to seek less care in order to protect the government´s bottom line."

Minutes before Wilson's wail, the president had debunked the theory that grandma's plug would be pulled in order to save federal dollars. "It's a lie, plain and simple," he said, which brought most of the attendees to their feet.

After the speech, the criticism for Wilson was bipartisan. "I've never seen anything like that before," said Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.) "We do not invite the president of the United States into the House of Representatives and hurl insults."

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said the outburst was "totally disrespectful" and demanded that Rep. Wilson apologize to the president. "No place for it in that setting or any other, and he should apologize for it immediately," McCain told Larry King on CNN.

Wilson apologized shortly after the speech for how he acted out: “This evening I let my emotions get the best of me when listening to the president’s remarks regarding the coverage of illegal immigrants in the healthcare bill. While I disagree with the president’s statement, my comments were inappropriate and regrettable. I extend sincere apologies to the president for this lack of civility.”

So how did you feel about the speech, the outburst, and/or the apology? Blurt out your comments in the field below. 

-- Tony Pierce

Photo: Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) shouts "You lie!" as President Barack Obama addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol on Wednesday. Credit: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

Related:

Rep. Joe Wilson's response to Obama's speech: 'You lie!'

Text of Obama's speech: Now is the season for action

President Obama's speech to school children

The White House has posted the speech President Obama will deliver to school children Tuesday. We have a copy of it below. Give it a read and let us know if you think the controversy preceding the event is merited.

The President: Hello everyone – how’s everybody doing today? I’m here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we’ve got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through twelfth grade. I’m glad you all could join us today. 

I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it’s your first day in a new school, so it’s understandable if you’re a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you’re in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could’ve stayed in bed just a little longer this morning.

I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn’t have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday – at 4:30 in the morning.   

Now I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, I’d fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I’d complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, "This is no picnic for me either, buster."

Steve Lopez and the Glenn Beck fan club

Recently Times columnist Steve Lopez went in search of fans of Glenn Beck, the Fox News personality who has garnered a large viewership since moving from CNN but has lost dozens of sponsors after he called President Obama a racist.

Lopez found a Santa Clarita group on the Internet that claimed to have 82 members, most of whom were united through Beck's TV program, which served as a rallying call against the Obama administration. Of that group was a 20-year-old woman who promised that they "will win this fight against radicalism."

Another woman wrote on the group's website, "I love my God, family and country and want to save this country from ruin."

Lopez met a man named Jason Hole, the Beck meet-up group's organizer. Hole has his differences with the Beck, but is more concerned with what he feels the Obama administration has in store for conservatives like himself. "I'm a hard-working American guy that wants to be able to worship Jesus Christ, go shooting, say what I want and enjoy life," Hole wrote.  He added: "Our government is preparing for civil unrest right now. I've seen documentation that states people will be considered terrorists if they wear blue jeans and talk excessively about the constitution. You're thinking I'm a kook, right? Look it up and you'll find it to be true."

So are you thinking that Hole and the Santa Clarita members of the meet-up group are kooks? Do you think, as Hole's uncle believes, that America is on the road to socialism? And if you are a Beck fan, do you think the people interviewed in Lopez's column reflect your beliefs?

Also, what do you think of Beck? Do you think that this is all an act for TV ratings? Or do you think he truly believes that the mixed-race president is a racist who has "a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture"?

Use your freedom of speech in the comment box below, but keep it clean; we can't accept anything here that they couldn't air on Fox.

-- Tony Pierce

Photo: Glenn Beck. Credit: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times

Has Obama lost his mojo? And does Washington get 'all wee-weed' up in August?

It was former Atty. Gen. John Mitchell who warned: "Watch what we do, not what we say," during the Nixon presidency. Well there are some political words that are just, well, precious. 

President Obama on Thursday went to his supporters to give a pep talk on healthcare reform, which has not had a very good August, at least from the White House’s point of view. The ongoing kerfuffle over whether Obama was retreating from his call for a public option was just the latest annoyance.

For the president, the furor was just the usual August hyperventilation by a media needing a story in quiet times -- similar to last year’s August on the presidential trail.

“The media was obsessed with it, and cable was 24 hours a day, and ’Obama’s lost his mojo,’ " Obama reminded his supporters of how the media acted last summer. "You remember all that? There’s something about August going into September where everybody in Washington gets all wee-weed up. I don’t know what it is. But that’s what happens."

Mojo passes the smell test as a common word, but "wee-weed up"?

“What is ‘wee-weed up,’ " reporters asked White House spokesman Robert Gibbs today.

To be fair, Gibbs has had a tough week, trying to convince skeptical reporters that the administration hasn’t changed its position on the public option. So at first, he tried to sidestep: “I don’t know if I should do that from the podium,” he said to laughter.

“Let’s do this in a way that is family friendly," Gibbs went on. “I think 'wee-weed up' is when people just get all nervous for no particular reason, when they -- look, I think the way the president used it was -- and I’ve talked to a few of you guys about this -- in August of 2007, right?, the rap on the President and the campaign was they can’t -- first of all, they’re doing poorly in Iowa; they can’t possibly win the nomination, let alone the presidency, right?, so I’ll leave those predications aside. August of 2008, everybody was nervous about whether the entire presidential campaign was slipping out from underneath the hands of the president, who they previously didn’t think would actually be the nominee.

“So this is just -- this is sort of an August pundit pattern between people getting overly nervous for something that still has a long way to go. 'Bed-wetting' is -- would be probably the more consumer-friendly term.”

Just for the record, the White House supports consumer-friendly healthcare reform.

-- Michael Muskal