Last week, the Obama White House released this photo.
The White House sent the photo in an official email, with the title “What’s Behind the President’s Desk?” and captioned it “President Barack Obama talks on the phone with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey in the Oval Office, July 30, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Some in Turkey are not amused.
Lawmakers in Turkey are criticizing President Obama over a recent White House photo showing him on the phone with Turkish Prime Minister Recip Tayyip Erdogan while holding a baseball bat.
“The photo reveals from whom our prime minister receives orders to rule the country,” said Metin Lutfi Baydar, a lawmaker with Turkey’s main opposition party to Erdogan.
Another opposition member, Umut Oran, called the photo “an implicit insult to Turkey and its citizens.”
Yeah, kind of obvious that a foreign country that is going Islamist and already has a prickly relationship with the US might take offense at Obama’s attempt to look like a Chicago politics thug.
Now the Obama White House is excusing the bat photo by putting out word that it has Hank Aaron’s autograph on it. Intended subtext: You’re criticizing a black president for having a bat signed by the black home run king. Because, racism.
Subtle, very subtle.
The White House should have anticipated that that caption on that photo could cause problems overseas. After nearly four years in office, they’re still running amateur hour at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Some of us remember a similar flap when the White House released a photo of Obama talking on the phone to Israel’s PM Netanyahu with his feet up on the desk, soles of his shoes pointing to the viewer. Many in the region consider showing the bottoms of one’s shoes to be an insult, so the photo was taken to reflect the disdain Obama has toward Netanyahu. Israelis certainly remember the incident, as local news reports of the latest photo flap with Turkey recall the earlier one toward Israel.
Me, I think putting his feet up on the Resolute Desk shows a lack of consideration for what doesn’t belong to him, a disrespect toward what’s been entrusted to his care. Since it was a special gift from the Brits, I suspect folks in the UK didn’t take kindly to it either.
Speaking of “subtle” in his usual ham-fisted manner, the Israel feet-on-the-desk incident was of a similar nature to this one. He was showing the soles of his shoes to the camera while on the phone – an insult to Israel that I am certain the Muslims really liked.
I broke a lifetime habit last time, voted Republican for president, and intend to do the same thing this fall. But this really is a tempest in a teaspoon. Baseball is the national pastime, the president was holding a baseball bat signed by an American hero, they weren’t on picture phone, this is offensive only to those bound and determined to get offended.
Of course finding disrespect when there’s no reason to believe there is any is a liberal habit.
This is intentional, the only question is why he would want to tweak Turkey’s nose. Does he want to destablilize the current Erdogan government? They are already trending Islamist so why rock the boat. Maybe he is hoping to push Ergogan to a more extreme position. I think the best way to understand all of Obama’s moves in the Middle East is to accept that he want to create the long-wished for Caliphate. Maybe he is planning to run it.
What was the point of releasing the photo if not to make Obama look tough? To make him look like a baseball fan? Obviously, anyone he was identified as talking to would feel this was an intimidation. Clearly amateurs in the White House.
Don’t forget – he has to remind everyone what a ‘gutsy’ leader he is!
Turkey, the nation who uncovered the Mossad-Spy-Bird-Camera-in-the-Nostril Plot.
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=270715
What do you expect? The sort of paranoia and excessive concern with dignity coming from Turkey stems from a deeply rooted cultural sense of insecurity which makes them very dangerous. Yep these people need F-35s.
“The photo reveals from whom our prime minister receives orders to rule the country,” said Metin Lutfi Baydar, a lawmaker with Turkey’s main opposition party to Erdogan.
Sounds like the lawmaker was insulted that Erdogan was even talking to Obama. Let Umut Oran explain the ‘implicit insult’ to Turkey. What was Obama supposed to be doing during the phone call? Bowing in the direction of Mecca? Playing solitaire on a PC? Recording notes of their conversation?
The picture makes it appear Erdogan had Obama’s full attention and Turkey sees it as an insult?
– T.R.
Am I right in assuming that you’re saying that Obama is not like Teddy Roosevelt (T.R.) since Obama is not good at walking softly and carrying a big stick?