Washington, Nov 17: When Obama bowed down to the Japanese emperor Akihito, he never knew that his act of respect would create such an uproar back home and set tongues wagging.

As  photos of the US President bowing to emperor Akihito continue to do the rounds, critics are crying hoarse that as the President of the world's superpower he should stand tall when representing the nation overseas.

"I don't know why President Obama thought that was appropriate. Maybe he thought it would play well in Japan. But it's not appropriate for an American president to bow to a foreign one," said conservative voice William Kristol on Fox Tv.

Echoing Kristol's opinion, Bill Bennet said on CNN," We don't defer to emperors. We don't defer to kings or emperors," adding that the incident was ugly.

Terming the President's gesture as demeaning to American's position as the world's superpower by being too apologetic and too deferential in his dealings with other world leaders, critics in Washington are contemplating whether the act should be considered as a disgrace or not.

The only defense for Obama came from Democratic activist Donna Brazile who said that Obama's gesture appeared to be an act of kindness to promote goodwill between two nations.

President Obama was in Japan as part of his Asia visit.

OneIndia News