Pop quiz: Who was the first U.S. president to bow to an emperor of Japan?

If you said Barack Obama, you guessed wrong. It was Richard Nixon, who in 1971 was depicted in Life magazine bowing to Emperor Hirohito (aka Showa, the leader who reigned in Japan during World War II, when his country was our enemy).

That hasn't stopped some conservatives from criticizing President Obama's deep bow to Hirohito's son, Emperor Akihito, during a visit to the imperial palace in Japan on Nov. 14. They accuse him of being too deferential, as if by trying (albeit awkwardly) to greet the Japanese emperor in the customary way, he was tugging on his forelock and whimpering, "Yassuh, your highness, we Americans are forever in your debt." The fact that he breached protocol by mixing it with a handshake is icing on the cake for his critics.



"Wasn't this president elected to restore our alliances and repair our image abroad? Now he's embarrassed the U.S. and one of our allies all at the same time. That takes real effort," sniped 'Fox News' host Sean Hannity, a veteran Obama-hater who claimed the president's performance was so bootlicking that it embarrassed the Japanese.

But let's put this in context. Yes, it's true that we owe the Japanese a lot of money, but we are far from weak in the eyes of the Japanese, who live with a constant American military presence. Our troops have been stationed there for nearly six decades (more if you count the occupation after World War II). Enough Japanese think we've overstayed our welcome to influence the most recent election for Japanese prime minister in favor of a candidate who wants a more independent approach to foreign policy. And let's not forget the fact that we leveled two of their cities with nuclear bombs during World War II.

So when the president tells the Japanese, "I have worked to renew American leadership and pursue a new era of engagement with the world based on mutual interests and mutual respect," all he's saying is that while we are still a superpower, cowboy diplomacy and arrogance is out. If he wants to punctuate the point with a respectful bow, so be it.

Our primacy on the world stage remains intact, whether he swaggers or bows.

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Sheryl Huggins Salomon is contributing editor of Black Voices, where she writes about politics and society. She is co-editor of the 'Nia Guide for Black Women' series of self-improvement books and the former publisher of Shade magazine. Follow her on Twitter or contact her at BVCEditor@aol.com.