Gov. Pawlenty and Mary Pawlenty rip Obama for bowing

Posted at 2:34 PM on April 10, 2009 by Tom Scheck (4 Comments)

Gov. Pawlenty and First Lady Mary Pawlenty criticized President Obama for reportedly bowing to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. On Pawlenty's weekly radio show, the two fielded a question on the incident (watch the video here) and later asked former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger for his take.

I posted the two parts of Pawlenty's show that discussed the incident:

Listen

Listen

For the record, White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs told the press corps that President Obama did not bow.

It should be noted that Gov. Pawlenty is considered a possible candidate for president in 2012.

Question of the Day: Is the criticism appropriate?

---

Comments (4)

I watched a late night televsion show that had a bit on this "outrage" over Obama. They then showed former president Bush kissing the King as well as holding hands while walking.

The British royalty have protocols as well. Michele Obama apparently ran afoul of protocol when she (gasp) touched the shoulder of the queen!

Whether or not he bowed to their king, so what? Haven't we got more important matters to attend to?

Posted by Jon Fistler | April 11, 2009 11:45 AM

---

Before responding to your question if the criticism is appropriate, the question needs to be asked : Is this typical AM radio chatter ? That’s why I listen to MPR and not WCCO.

To the subject at hand, I have to confess when it happened I must have been paying attention to “real news” of what the leaders discussed – not how they greeted each other. I presume that Obama did not give anyone a “fist bump”. So Obama expressed a sense of recognition and deference that may be typical in some cultures …. and is being criticized just like his predecessor was criticized for photos “holding hands”, “kissing” and heaven forbid, even allowing the Saudi ambassador, Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abd al-Aziz, to sit on the arm of a chair looking down on President Bush.

That stated, I have never listened to the Governor’s radio program … but did he discuss other matters that might have more of an interest to Minnesotans. For example, did he echo a concern that the AmeriCorps program will lead to indoctrination camps for young Americans ? Or, did he endorse John Kline’s Secret Ballot Protection Act ? Or comment on Tim Walz’s concern that Ag subsidies should not be changed. Or comment on the members of Congress who met with Fidel Castro in Cuba (which would actually be an interesting question since Pawlenty vetoed a resolution last year encouraging Congress to end trade, financial and travel restrictions against Cuba. Pawlenty said the state would benefit from increased trade with the island country but the federal government, not state legislatures, should address foreign policy matters.)

Posted by Minnesota Central | April 11, 2009 11:58 AM

---

Something tells me Gov Pawlenty should get back to governing and stop trying to run for president in 2012. A radio show? Exactly what does that have to do with public service? Oh that's right, it's only to boost his own exposure.

Posted by jack | April 12, 2009 9:27 AM

---

The governor and his wife sounded like a family version of the Rush Limbaugh Show. They bad-mouthed the president and showered flowers upon their upcoming guest, Henry Kissinger. I am guessing that WCCO staff lacks the endurance to hear what goes on. All of the calls taken with questions for Kissinger included praise for the governor. What is WCCO doing with this right wing propaganda?

Posted by Robert Perschmann | April 13, 2009 8:59 AM

---

Post a comment

The following HTML tags are allowed in your comments:
+ Bold: <b>Text</b>
+ Italic: <i>Text</i>
+ Link: <a href="http://url" target="_blank">Link</a>
Fields marked with * are required.

Name*:

Email Address*:

URL:

Remember personal info?

Comments*:

Comment Preview appears above this form upon pressing the "preview" button. Edit your comment and press "preview" again, until you are satisfied with your comment.

Your comment may not appear on the blog until several minutes after it was submitted.

• E-mail this page
• Print this page
• Save to Delicious
• Submit to Digg
• Share this

Services

• Hourly Newscast
• HD Radio
• iPhone App / Mobile
• E-mail newsletters
• RSS feeds
• Podcasts
• Submit your photos
• Videos
• Weather
• Most e-mailed stories

Become a Sponsor