Superiority Complex

So, I guess the President bowed to the Japanese Emperor, and I guess this is a big deal somehow:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/nov/17/pruden-obama-bows-the-nation-cringes/

I guess he's shown too much respect to other leaders as well, although I didn't notice the BREAKING NEWS when that happened.

I'm just curious, since when does showing respect correlate to expressing weakness or servitude or whatever? Since when do you have to act like an asshole in order to retain the dignity of your position? Do you really think that anyone is going to forget that Obama is the President of the most powerful nation on Earth just because he bowed?

For that matter, if you were really concerned about the sanctity of the President's dignity, then what are you doing criticising him? You can't bash him with one hand and then get pissed that he doesn't demand the utmost respect with the other. I mean, I don't agree with Obama on a lot of things, but at least I'm consistent.

To bring it down to a level most people can relate to, if I step into my boss' office, he usually greets me with "Sir" - I'll bet this is pretty common, as several of my former bosses did this as well. I don't forget that he's my boss when he does this. I don't respect him less as a result - in fact, I respect him more. If he acted like an arrogant prick, I'd respect him less. See how that works? I'll bet pretty much everyone would have that reaction, whether you're Joe the plumber or Emperor Akihito or Barack Obama. They're just men, you know. It's not like Barack Obama is some sort of god, he's just a dude, and as a dude, he's subject to the rules of politeness that normally govern dudes. It's really pretty irrelevant how powerful a dude he is; it wouldn't give him the right to be a douche.

I'm pretty sure the Oaths of Office don't include the phrase "I will be a jackass to all foreign officials." I could be wrong, though. I also thought humility was supposed to be a virtue; personally, I'd like the most powerful man on Earth to be pretty damned virtuous, wouldn't you?