Protocol?

Eisenhower bows to Pope John XXIII

Or here.

President Eisenhower bows to Archbishop Lakovos

Or (Merci!) here.

President Eisenhower bows to French President de Gaulle.

Or, perhaps, its better to kiss?

The Bush family and the Saudis have a strong relationship.

Of course, this may be a Bush family tradition, seeing how Dad also was caught in the act.

President Bush (Sr.) greeting ???

No, bows are definitely better.

President Bush (Jr.) bows to the Pope

Nixon liked them, too. Here with Mao.

Nixon bows to Mao

And also to Emperor Hirohito.

Nixon bows to Emperor Hirohito.

And there are more of these — Many more. Go back to the 1800′s and everybody bowed to everybody else — Handshaking was a much more informal way of greeting someone else, so for formal occasions, one bowed.

What it comes down to is that traditions change with the times. Asia never had a strong tradition of shaking hands and yet they accepted the Western practice for dealing with the international community. Now that the Asian nations are gaining more standing and their cultures are more well-understood around the world, it is only natural that some of their practices also gain more exposure.

This all said, it is often dangerous for a non-Asian to bow, not only because they may do so incorrectly, but because the other party is likely to not expect it and may already have a hand extended or be otherwise unprepared. In the case of Obama’s bow to Emperor Akihito of Japan, the bow was done correctly and in accordance with Japanese protocol. I am sure that it was discussed with the handlers on both sides prior to it being done, and except for the blusterly outrage of what I have to believe are uninformed people, it was nothing particularly special. Ironically, the same people who criticized the Obamas for not following British protocol strictly enough on their trip to the UK are typically those who have also criticized President Obama for his adherence to Japanese protocol during his trip here. You can’t have it both ways, people — When you try, you get seen for what you are.

President Obama’s bow to President Hu Jintao, on the other hand, was most likely an off-the-cuff response and it should never have been done. First, things like that among world leaders shouldn’t ever happen without planning — People read far too much into it and the rabid masses on both sides have a field day. Also, modern Chinese don’t normally bow. It’s an old tradition that — almost exactly like the USA — has died off except for use in some religious ceremonies. That said, it probably went over better than this did.

President Bush getting President Hu Jintao's attention

Some things are just never correct protocol.