By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Analyst

Nov.  17, 2009 – There seems to be no end to the criticism of President Barack Obama, and now conservative  commentators are seizing on his bow to Japan’s emperor during his visit to Japan likening his actions to “groveling”  to a foreign leader.

Let’s be serious, the president would have had to bow regardless, Emperor Akihito is short – not to mention he was following protocol by doing so.  It sound a bit silly to be discussing and analyzing not only the bow – but how low the president bowed his head.  

The president greeted Akihito, the son of the man who ruled when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941, with a simultaneous handshake and a deep bow.  The bow brought the 6’-1½’ president’s head below Akihito for just a few seconds. 

I doubt the president’s bow to the emperor of country that is our ally will weaken the U.S.‘s  status or that of the leader of the free world?  Obama acted out of respect for his host, and there is nothing wrong with exhibiting respect and power at the same time.

The State Department does have guidelines for foreign visits. In the 2007 “Protocol for the Modern Diplomat,” emissaries are advised to be aware of greeting rituals such as kisses, handshakes or bows and to follow a country’s tradition. “Failure to abide with tradition may be interpreted as rudeness or a lack of respect for colleagues,” it says. Of course this may not apply to the president, but good protocol is a suggested form of behavior.

Obama isn’t the first president to bow to a foreign head of state.  Ian Kelly, State Department spokesman, told reporters that the bow was “a sign of respect to the emperor.”

The bottom line is the bow isn’t a threat to our national security.  Let’s move on, and remember how much Obama has improved America’s international image by being respectful rather than arrogant.

What do you think, was the president showing respect or weakness with the bow? 

Photos: See Pics From Obama’s Asian Tour

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Analyst

U.S. President Barack Obama, left, walks with Mayor of Shanghai Han Zheng, right, at Xijiao State Guest House in Shanghai, China, Monday, Nov. 16, 2009. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Nov.  16, 2009 – President Obama is breaking new ground with his visit to China, and it’s not his foreign policy it’s his popularity.  

The headline in “The Hindu” on-line news paper reads; “In China, Obama’s popularity challenges race stereotypes.”  Stereo-types that aren’t much different than those here in the U.S. according to Raymond Zhou, a popular newspaper columnist, “Much of China’s simmering intolerance is color-based. It is not an exaggeration to say many of my countrymen have a subconscious adulation of races paler than us. The flip side: We tend to be biased against those darker skinned.”

But skin color was the cause for a racist outburst by some in China when a bi-racial contestant won a realty show. Lou Jing, the daughter of an African-American father and Chinese mother became the target of racial slurs on Internet blog site when she won a popular Shanghai reality television show.

The reaction to the 20 year-old contestant brought the debate about race in China to the front page of papers previewing the visit of America’s first Black president.

One interesting finding; last week a survey of 3,381 on a Chinese website asked what people found most attractive about the president.  Half responded, “his smile,” 30 percent “his skin color.”  

The president’s popularity is higher among younger Chinese — similar to his appeal to young folks in the U.S.  That could be why the president will follow his bilateral meeting with Party Secretary, Yu Sheng, and Mayor of Shanghai, Han Zheng with a town hall meeting with future Chinese leaders.

The town hall will be streamed live on The White House website from the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum. 

After hosting the town hall Obama will leave Shanghai for Beijing where he’ll attend another round of meetings with President Hu Jintao of China in Yangyuan Hall of the Diaoyutai State Guest house.   Later that evening the two heads of state will have dinner.

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Analyst

Nov. 12, 2009 – President Barack Obama has joined his 43 predecessors in the Hall of Presidents at Disney World.  But the first African-American president is sharing the limelight with the introduction of Disney’s first African-American princess:  Princess Tiana.

Disney didn’t know in 2006 when it began creating the 2-D hand drawn animated film it would be making its debut alongside another “first”; the first African-American president.  

And now Disney has both.

“We worked on him [Obama] for a little over eight months; this figure is the most technical advance in detail accuracy.  The technology allowed us to get the pitch of lips — how he moves his lips when forming his words,” Diego Parris, of Imagineering for Disney told me. (They also worked on a John McCain figure until the election.)

Obama’s likeness stands on stage in the Hall of Presidents Exhibit and delivers brief remarks along with the likeness of President George Washington following a highlight presentation on the history of U.S. presidents.  Parris said, Obama’s participation included recording his remarks for Disney at the White House and staff assisting with the details on his attire, lapel pin and watch.  

I can’t say who is providing the voice for President Washington ’s role, but I do know who’s the voice for Princess Tiana.  Actress Anika Noni Rose, you may remember her from the film “Dream Girls.”     

“Princess Tiana is the first Disney princess introduced in 10 years, the ninth Disney princess and the first American princess created by the animation dynasty.  The movie, “The Princess and the Frog” is scheduled to open next month.

 The musical fairy tale is about a young girl from New Orleans who is mistaken for a princess by a prince of a frog who requests a kiss to break the spell.  I think you can fill in the rest.  Having the story take place in New Orleans gives a city that has faced some bad times some good PR.
 

To capture the feel and the spirit of the city, filmmakers took more than 50,000 photos of local images to use as reference and inspiration including streets, buildings, restaurants and the garden district.

Some critics have questioned the film taking place in New Orleans where Blacks suffered such harrowing experiences during Katrina, why the princess ends up with a frog and why her suitor isn’t also from states (he’s from a fictional land)? 

Having a Black president has brought about a lot of discussions about race, role models and altering realities for stereo-types. I think the same is true for the introduction of a Black princess.  

Now little girls and boys of all races won’t think its make believe; they’ll see a president and a princess giving fairy tales new endings.

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Analyst

Nov. 10, 2009 – A new Gallup Poll has found the majority of Americans thought the election of an African-American as president would improve race relations in the U.S.

But has it?

Well, the jury is still out on that assumption.  Gallup surveyed 1,521 adults Oct. 16 to 19 and discovered less than half of those polled felt race relations have improved.  Only 41 percent saw improvement and 22 percent polled said race relations had worsened since Obama had become president.

African-American surveyed were more likely than Whites to say race relations are improving.  Fifty-three percent of the Blacks surveyed saw positive trends, while only 39 percent of Whites acknowledged improvement.   

Gallup’s Lydia Saad said, “Black Americans are particularly optimistic about Obama’s long-term impact, with 79 percent expecting relations to get better. This compares with 58 percent of non-Hispanic Whites” surveyed.

The good news; Blacks and Whites express optimism for the future in race relations. Sixty-one percent believe things will improve because of the election of the first African-American president.

The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.  African-American participants carry a six percent margin and Whites a four percent margin of error.

Do you think race relations have improved since the election of President Obama?

Former Sen. Edward Brooke accepts the Congressional Medal Gold Medal in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol.

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Analyst

Oct. 28, 2009 –Sen. Edward Brooke, the first African-American man elected by popular vote suggested to lawmakers gathered to honor him Wednesday to put aside partisan bickering and work together.

Brooke, 90 years-old, said to Republican and Democratic lawmakers gathered in the packed Rotunda of the Capitol, “We’ve got to get together.”  Acknowledging Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Brooke added, “We have no alternative. There’s nothing left. It’s time for politics to be put aside on the back burner.”

The president departed the ceremony before Brooke’s remarks but delivered a similar message.   “He didn’t care whether a bill was popular or politically expedient, Democratic or Republican — he cared about whether it helped people, whether it made a difference in their daily lives,” Obama said.

“When pressed to define himself, he’d offer phrases like “creative moderate,” or “a liberal with a conservative bent.”  But in truth, Ed Brooke’s career was animated not by a faith in any particular party or ideology, but rather, by a faith in the people he served,” the president said.

President Barack Obama and former Sen. Edward Brooke.

The late Sen. Edward Kennedy,( D-Mass.), along with other lawmakers introduced the legislation to give Brooke Congress’ highest award.  Kennedy’s widow, Victoria Kennedy and son Rep. Patrick Kennedy, (D-R.I.) attended the ceremony.

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Analyst

Oct. 23, 2009 –The public option is starting to look good to the American public and  to lawmakers burning the midnight oil working on health care reform legislation. It looks like late night talks could bring the White House and senior Senate Democrats closer together on how to reform health care that includes a government run insurance program.

 Thursday night’s meeting ended with talk of health care legislation that would strongly consider a requirement for the federal government to compete directly with private industry in the sale of insurance.

This is exactly what Black lawmakers have wanted from the beginning and something President Obama said he “strongly supported” but wouldn’t require.  Following the summer town hall meetings were folks railed against the plan, the alternative proposed co-op by some Senate conservatives and flexibility of the presidents’ stand on the issue made it difficult to secure congressional support.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs was asked Thursday about the possibility of a “state-based” public option gaining support.  Gibbs wouldn’t commit,  “Obviously we’ll continue to evaluate proposals as they come down the pike that are involved in the merged legislation as we go forward.”

But if individual states decided to “opt-out” that would create another set of circumstances – but it appears to be one of the options being discussed. 

But the first glimmer of hope for the public option came from Democratic Sens. Ben Nelson, (Neb) and Kent Conrad,(N.D)., when they told reporters they had heard private negotiations were considering the plan.

In recent weeks support for the public option has increased.  The Congressional Budget Office gave it a better score than the suggested co-operative plan and five of the proposed health care bills in the House and Senate committee have a public option.  

Opponents contend an affordable public option would drive private insurers out of business and be the first steps toward a government run health care system.  However supporters of the public options say if the insurance companies offer fair market prices there business will grow with an additional 40 million Americans entering the market place.

The president should put his full force behind the public option – the tide is turning and he should grab onto the wave.

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Analyst

Oct. 19, 2009 – This latest war of words between Fox News and the Obama White House in my view is a no-win situation; Fox News is never going to do positive stories about the administration and the administration can’t waste time battling a 24-hour cable news network.  But it seems things heated up last week when President Barack Obama’s communications director, Anita Dunn, told CNN that Fox was viewed by the administration as “a wing of the Republican Party.”

Anita Dunn’s words apparently set off what followed over the weekend with Fox News Channel calling foul and White House staff not backing down. 

Every political junkie will tell you they watch all the cable news channels to “keep up” and usually admit they check out Fox News to get the Republican spin and “opinion” on the issue of the day.  Fox’s stock and trade is anti-Obama stories and dissing most Democrats and their policies, so I’m not sure why they care what the White House says.

Dunn said the administration isn’t cutting the network out – they just deal with them knowing they have a predisposed perspective.   Dunn said, Obama “has appeared on Fox shows in the past (and) he certainly will appear on them in the future.” 

One of Obama’s top advisers, David Axelrod, restated on ABC’s “This Week” that administration officials will appear on Fox even as he reiterated that the network should not be treated as a news organization.   Ouch!

According to The Associated Press, Fox network executive Michael Clemente said it was “astounding” that administration critics couldn’t distinguish between news and opinion programming.  “It seems self-serving on their part,” he said.

“The administration was being attacked, members of this administration were being attacked, policies of this administration were being misrepresented — and that’s a generous interpretation of how they were being described,” Dunn said. “The reality is that at some point, the administration has to defend itself.”

It’s doubtful this will be ending soon, but it should.  I say let’s get back to health care reform.

What do you think, are  you a Fox News viewer? 

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Analyst

Oct. 9, 2009 – President Obama was awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize and joins the ranks of men he’s admired and spoken of since his early days in public service; one of the most memorable, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The committee honored the president for what they called “”his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”

When the announcement made its way to the White House before dawn, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs called the president and woke him with the news.

The news Obama had won the prestigious honor was announced in Oslo at 5 a.m. EDT (0900 GMT).  Reuter’s news service is reporting a White House official saying, “The president was humbled to be selected by the committee.”

Other famous Nobel Peace Prize winners include The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1964, Nelson Mandela, 1993 and in Kofi Annan in 2001.

Obama joins three other U.S. presidents: President Jimmy Carter who was awarded the prize in 2002 for his efforts to find a peaceful solution to international conflicts,  Theodor Roosevelt who won in 1906 for negotiating a peace agreement that ended the Russo-Japanese war, and Woodrow Wilson in 1906.

The most recent elected official to win the honor is former Vice President Al Gore in 2007 for his efforts to raise awareness about climate changes and saving the environment.

Before the president can thank the committee for the honor, critics are questioning if he deserves the award just nine months into his presidency.  The answer to that is simple; he  won the honor – so yes, he’s deserves it.

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Analyst

Oct. 6, 2009 – Eight U.S. soldiers were killed near the Afghan and Pakistan border on Saturday just as President Obama, his national security team and his ground commanders plunged into the debate on  the next steps to take in the eight-year war. 

The conflict has intensified in recent months and so has the tension between the president and Congress.  This could be the reason Obama has invited members of Congress to the White House Tuesday for a briefing on Afghanistan.  

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters during Monday’s briefing, the president will “walk them through where we are in (the) process and solicit their views.”

Gibbs added, that the president has not made any decision as of yet on sending extra troops.  Lawmakers from both parties have been invited and Gibbs said the president’s meeting is to hear all opinions on the war.

Obama may find some Democrats a tough sell on sending more troops to the Afghanistan.  Some Dems were early opponents to the conflict that has lasted longer than expected and remains unpopular with those members of Congress firmly against an insurgency of troops in an already volatile,  dangerous territory. 

One outspoken longtime opponent, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), is a member of a group of Democrats who have introduced legislation to the House of Representatives to block the deployment of any additional troops by prohibiting the use of funds to support troop increases.

Lee said, “As we consider the possibility of further entrenching United States Armed Forces by sending significantly more brave men and women in uniform into harm’s way, this legislation sends a clear message in opposition to this course of action.”

It’s really hard to tell who will have the most influence on the president’s decision.  But one thing is for sure, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, has publicly said he needs 40,000 more U.S. troops in Afghanistan to be successful. 

Let’s see if he gets what he wants.

Do you think we should send more troops to Afghanistan?

By Pamela Gentry, Senior Political Analyst

Oct. 1, 2009 – The president held a meeting with his national security team Wednesday to discuss the progress and the challenges the U.S. is facing in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Today he’ll leave for Copenhagen to plug the U.S. as the host of the 2016 Olympics.

First lady Michelle Obama stops to talk to waiting reporters as Pat Ryan, third right, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Chicago 2016 looks on. Mrs. Obama meets with International Olympic Committee (IOC) members in Copenhagen,Wednesday as part of the Chicago 2016 bid team who are competing with Tokyo, Madrid, and Rio de Janeiro for the right to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. The OIC will vote on Friday, Oct. 2, in Copenhagen. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Critics this week have charged the president is spreading himself too thin and that he needs to stay put and worry about health care reform, two wars and the economy.

Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee, told reporters Tuesday, “I think at a time of recession, at a time where Americans have expressed rather significantly their concerns and frustrations over the course of the spring and summer about health care, about the economy, about a host of domestic issues, even international issues, I think that this trip, while nice, is not necessary for the president.”

But the White House disagrees.  During Wednesday’s press briefing, Robert Gibbs, the president’s press secretary, was asked if all the issues with Iran, Afghanistan, and health care created an “extraordinary week.”  Gibbs said, the administration has been juggling a number of issues since taking office on January 21, and this week was no exception.

“I think this has been an extraordinary eight months. What did we wake up to on the 21st of January?  An economy that was sliding off the cliff; a banking system that your paper had written about that could fail; any number of international challenges,” Gibbs said.

On Wednesday, House Minority Leader John Boehner added his voice to the chorus of critics. “Listen, I think it’s a great idea to promote Chicago, but he’s the president of the United States, not the mayor of Chicago. 

“And the problems we have here at home affect all Americans and that’s where his attention ought to be,” Boehner said.

One of those important issues is how the U.S. deals with al Qaeda. It was the topic of a closed door meeting with the president and his national security team.  Few details were released, but the White House released a brief summary stating, “As the U.S. aggressively confronts al Qaeda and its leadership around the world, the President has set a clear goal in Afghanistan: to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al Qaeda and their extremist allies.”

“When it comes to decisions as important as keeping this country safe and putting our troops into harm’s way, the President has made it clear that he will rigorously assess our progress.”

The president will join the first lady in Copenhagen Thursday, but it’s doubtful his critics will go away.  It’s also doubtful his absence for a few days will be more than symbolic in asserting he isn’t working on other issues at hand.
 
What do you think? Should the president be promoting the Olympics coming to the U.S. or minding the store here in Washington?