“Can you imagine Obama bowing like this to a white man?”

Philip M. writes from England:

Do you know if there has been any black reaction to Obama’s bow?

If there has not been a reaction, why not? Blacks seem very conscious about preserving “face” and “respect” normally, so shouldn’t they be annoyed at a black man abasing himself before an oriental?

If there is no big protest from blacks at this episode then surely this proves that blacks voted for Obama to represent their interests, not America. If they do not care about the image of America this sends out abroad this is because they still identify the country as being a white majority country with white foreign policy and economic objectives, and the image that their leader projects will therefore be an issue to white America; it is not their responsibility or concern. To black America, gaining power at the expense of whites was the foreign-policy objective. Getting money from whites was their economic plan.

Typically blacks do not match their demands for equal rights and power with the assuming of an equal share of the burden for preserving America’s reputation and prestige. That is still the white man’s job.

Can you imagine Obama bowing like this to a white man? What would be the reaction of blacks in America if he did? He would not. He is not your President. Not in any meaningful sense. Far from making America “post-racial,” this demonstrates that in fact American politics is now dominated by the politics of tribalism. What you have in charge of your nation is a factional tribal leader who’s core voting group do not give a damn about how that white construct known as “America” is seen by the rest of the world. In fact it is to their benefit if it is seen as racist and backward.

Thinking about it, this creates a unique and quite new split in the way that the office of Presidency is carried out and experienced by the incumbent. As a black man in a hopelessly racist and uncivilised white nation, Obama is not being expected to take on a moral responsibility, or to be representative of the nation, people and history he is supposed to represent. This is why the bow can be an insult to whites without its being humiliating for him personally The ego and personality of Obama are therefore completely detached from the emotional, spiritual and representative aspects of being the President of a nation. He has power without responsibility. The whole role becomes entirely about him as a man, his personality, his whims and flaws, which will not be kept in check by the usual forces acting upon a white American with roots in America. This is the profile of a despot.

- end of initial entry -

Todd White writes:

I thought you might be interested in my new essay in which I examine President Obama’s job approval rating and compare it to President Carter’s approval rating from his first year in office, and find a striking similarity.

A Tale of Two Presidencies

Considering the state of the economy (and numerous other flubs—Henry Louis Gates, Khalid Sheik Muhammed, you name it), I’m surprised Obama’s been able to stay above the 50 percent mark.

Then I thought to myself: I wonder what Jimmy Carter’s job approval rating was during his first year in office (1977)? …

Note the eerie similarity to Carter’s first year in office. Obama starts his Presidency in the 60s and then the 50s, and then by the end of the year he’s barely able to stay above the 50 percent mark.

So, given Carter’s track record, what does the future hold for Obama? Well, in another surprise, Carter finished his second year in office still around 50 percent. It wasn’t until the middle of his third year that Carter became one of the most unpopular Presidents in history.

What’s the bottom line? It might take people awhile before they realize how awful Obama is.

LA replies:

Middle of his third year? Was that the approximately July 1979 “Developing shale oil is the moral equivalent of war by which we will overcome our malaise” speech?

Perhaps the most inapt, tone-deaf, out-to-lunch utterance ever delivered by a U.S. president. With that speech, Carter lost the country.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at November 18, 2009 12:45 AM | Send