I agree with Don Cardi. The photo is a bit unsettling to me (not unsettling enough to make me regret that I voted for Obama) because it is a unilateral gesture, which denotes reverence. He met other world leaders, democratically elected officials like himself, but why did he choose to bow before a ruling monarch as if he were a subject. I'm sure Obama was acting out of respect, but from my view of the photo the gesture is misplaced. He's trying very hard.

It doesn't matter that it was a Saudi. A week ago the Obamas met the Queen and while she received them graciously and the Obamas were gracious in return I don't recall such gestures. In fact, Michelle even placed her arm around the Queen, a gesture that contrasts sharply with Obama's.

I don't mean to sound jingoistic, but bowing before royalty or birthright is inconsistent with the ideals that founded this country. When the President of the United States meets heads of other nations, he does so on the behalf of the American people. I just think he would have been better advised to stand up straight, look him eye to eye and give him a firm handshake as an equal. I know there are many cultures, but the American heritage, even as described by de Tocqueville almost two hundred years ago, is that we don't unilaterally bow or revere monarchs.