Obama Bows to Emperor

Even Nixon bowed to the Japanese emperor —but he did it better

(NEWSER) - A friend of ABC’s Jake Tapper would like to clear up some misconceptions about President Obama’s bow to the Japanese emperor: First, “the right is wrong about Obama’s bow.” It’s not an “unprecedented” display of subservience from an American president—Richard Nixon bowed to the emperor in 1971 (photo here ). But the left also misses the mark: The bow can’t be a “sign of cultural understanding” when it’s done all wrong. More»

It could become as iconic as Gerald Ford's stumble

(NEWSER) - A bow like the one President Obama gave the Japanese emperor isn't that big a deal, but neither was Gerald Ford's stumble down airplane steps, writes Peggy Noonan. Ford's stumble came to symbolize a presidency seen as bumbling, however. The photos of Obama bowing—paired with headlines labeling his Asian trip a failure—may come to symbolize a presidency increasingly seen as weak and incompetent, Noonan writes in the Wall Street Journal. More»

Stimulus, President O-bow-ma get top billing

(NEWSER) - As we await tomorrow’s feast, conservative pundit Michelle Malkin gives us something to gnaw on, running down the year’s top turkeys:

• The stimulus: The “Generational Theft Act” isn’t even a turkey, but a “Turbaconducken—the heart attack-inducing dish of roasted chicken stuffed inside a duck stuffed inside a turkey, all wrapped in endless slabs of bacon.”

Country pauses to remember its dead

(NEWSER) - At 2:46pm local time today, people all across Japan stood in silence to remember the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami exactly one year ago that killed more than 19,000 people, destroyed 370,000 homes, and created the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, reports the AP . Sirens marked the earthquake, trains stopped, and a Buddhist priest in one coastal town rang a huge bell. At Tokyo's National Theater, Emperor Akihito, Empress Michiko, and Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda stood in silence, along with hundreds of others. More»

Akihito has suffered from variety of health problems in recent years

(AP) - Japanese Emperor Akihito will have heart bypass surgery later this month, his palace said today after the 78-year-old monarch was hospitalized for tests over the weekend. Akihito returned to the palace today after the tests and has scheduled the surgery for Feb. 18, the Imperial Household Agency said. More»