When Obama bowed before the King of Saudi Arabia, the White House denied the story. “It wasn’t a bow. He grasped his hand with two hands, and he’s taller than King Abdullah,” an Obama aide told Politico‘s Ben Smith on the condition of anonymity. It was ludicrous — the whole world was looking at a picture of Obama kissing the King’s feet. So when Obama bowed before the Japanese Emperor, the White House tried another tack (again on condition of anonymity):

As the wheels come off the U.S.-Japan relationship, it’s worth pondering if the President of the United States didn’t bow to the wrong Japanese. The Washington Post has a devastating story today on the position and status of the U.S. relative to Japan.