From the Desk of

Kevin Tracy

2009-11-25

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:

"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.