Mike Huckabee Proves Foreign Policy Idiocy, Again

Posted By Kevin Tracy at 3:00 am on November 25, 2009

Huckabee trying to pull his invisible foot out of his mouth.

When I was a kid, I watched a lot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Probably a lot more than was healthy. From that, I learned two things. Turtles have three fingers and it is a customary and traditional greeting in Japan to bow. As it would turn out, Turtles didn’t really have three fingers. HOWEVER, my observation that bowing was a normal greeting was spot on. It was reaffirmed in the classroom starting in First Grade and later at various events and observances throughout my life. Americans shake hands (which was weird to the rest of the world until the 19th and 20th century) and the Japanese bow to one another. It’s simply a fact of life.

Well, in a recent interview with Katie Couric, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee had this to say:

Watch CBS News Videos Online

“I think that, as a private citizen, for him to bow and show deference and respect is one thing, but as the president of the United States it’s not appropriate to bow to foreign leaders because he’s representing the country.”

“It was just that the whole picture of the president of the United States in that capacity, bowing, was offensive to me,” Huckabee said. “But, you know what, I could be wrong.” He later added: “I think that that was inappropriate, and I still do, no matter what the polls show.”

You know what, Governor Huckabee? YOU ARE WRONG!

First of all, our founding fathers bowed to one another and foreign leaders, representatives, dignitaries, and social guests to show respect for both them as individuals and their countries. The hand shake really wasn’t used until the early to mid-1800s until several years before the Civil War. Would Huckabee prefer that we DON’T show respect to our international allies?

Seriously, what is it about Katie Couric that causes Republicans to make utter fools of themselves? Huckabee, of course, was silent when the President bowed to Pope Benedict XVI – of course, Catholics make up a larger voting block than Japanese immigrants. Does that mean this is political? Well, either Huckabee is a hypocrite lacking ethics in his political dealings or he’s actually riding in the “Short Bus” with Sarah Palin in Iowa for his book tour.

Either way, I owe people an apology for ever supporting this guy. I thought Huckabee had more foreign policy sense than he actually has and I thought he was above idiot pandering politics. I was wrong on both counts.

Comments (14)

14 Comments »

Comment by Wickle on November 25, 2009

Well, if you were duped, so was I. Not sure if that makes you feel any better … but since I was even considering rejoining the GOP under Gov. Huckabee’s leadership, I might have been duped worse than you ever were. Sigh …

I’m afraid that since losing the primary, Gov. Huckabee really has decided to go the Fox News/talk radio route for his future. Most of what he’s been saying has been reciting their garbage lately.

That he didn’t do that was exactly why I liked him before … I agree that it’s very disappointing.

Comment by daltonsbriefs on November 25, 2009

Kevin, you’ve come a long way since the Huckster army … now just one more small step and you’ll be there in the midst of the Palin Rogue Revolution :-0

Comment by kevintracy on November 25, 2009

Haha, sorry Steve.
I’ve left the Huckster army because the Huckster has turned out to be a less attractive version of Sarah Palin. I’m actually not sure who I’m going to support in 2011/2012, right now. It won’t be Romney, Huckabee, or Palin.

Comment by kevintracy on November 25, 2009

Ken,
I think we were duped because of the lack of choices we had. In hind sight, I probably should have gotten more involved with Duncan Hunter. But like I said in the primary, a Representative simply doesn’t have the clout needed to run for President like a Senator or Governor, so even that was doomed to fail.

Comment by Steve on November 25, 2009

Angle of the bow was much too severe and the coinciding handshake was a major breech of protocol that nobody can dispute…..

Comment by kevintracy on November 25, 2009

He’s the figurehead of Japan, you’re supposed to make a deep bow to him. Furthermore, if you look at how Japanese politicians and businessmen greet Americans, there is usually a bow first and then a handshake or a handshake and then a bow. It’s standard protocol to greet people both their way and be greeted your way. If it was a breech of protocol, the guy wouldn’t have shook his hand.

Comment by kevintracy on November 25, 2009

If you look for pictures of the Emperor, you’ll see him shaking a LOT of people’s hands.

Comment by Jarrod on November 26, 2009

Huckabee said the bow was offensive to him, like it was offensive to a lot of other Americans, especially those who fought in World War II. You didn’t see Cheney bowing to the Japanese Emperor – does that mean Cheney was a foreign policy idiot?

Comment by kevintracy on November 26, 2009

If you’re looking to Dick Cheney as a man who exhibits good behavior and interacts well with other people, you might be more of an idiot than Huckabee. I like Dick Cheney a lot, don’t get me wrong. But he’s not somebody I want directing foreign policy, meeting with foreign leaders on a regular basis, or even picking my parents up at the airport.

The position of Emperor is a position we agreed to make part of Japan’s constitution when we gave it to them after the war. Furthermore, the Emperor that fought us in WWII is dead and rotting in the ground. You’re arguing, essentially, that President Bush was giving a back-rub to Adolf Hitler when he was really giving one to Angela Merkel.

Comment by Laurie on November 27, 2009

“Seriously, what is it about Katie Couric that causes Republicans to make utter fools of themselves?”

Best question I’ve heard about the media in a long time. Perhaps Ms. Pixie is doing what all the others-conservative, liberal and “non-biased”-cannot: Getting pols to underestimate her so badly that they reveal themselves nakedly.

Dick Cheney is such a great example of what a government health care plan can provide. Nitroglycerin, pacemakers to keep his bloodless heart beating… Go, Dick…Show us all what is really needed.

Comment by Laurie on November 27, 2009

As far as the bow…My family and I hosted a Japanese family and a lone Korean yesterday for Thanksgiving. Not only did they think the bow was “just part of accepted protocol”, they were all scratching their heads about the uproar this has caused in our country. Was it “an apology”, was the angle “too extreme”, did Obama demonstrate “weakness”…All of those questions were met with bemused and confused expressions. Truly, they struggled to find the words to express what a non-issue this was for those who understand the culture. Eye opening, for me.

Fun stuff…Just to let me know that they understood, at least, the silliness of the controversy, I recieved very exagerrated bows from them all after dinner. At last, some context AND some humor about this, the smallest of non-issues the right has ever cooked up.

Comment by kevintracy on November 27, 2009

Hahaha, thanks for sharing, Laurie. I hope you folks had a great Thanksgiving!
Comment by Jamison on November 27, 2009

Well, we kinda did fight a war so that Americans wouldn’t have to bow to royalty, or foreign leaders.

I’m just sayin’…

Comment by kevintracy on November 27, 2009

If you seriously believe that bowing to a person in Japan is a sign of obedience and a recognition of their superiority over us, you shouldn’t be allowed to vote.

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Mike Huckabee Proves Foreign Policy Idiocy, Again

14 Comments »

Leave a comment