(07-14-2009 10:43 PM)Tripster Wrote:  Yes, honestly, it looks like he was Going For the Shake on the First Couple of Tries and had to Regroup Fast for the Camera when no one would shake his hand.

I will grant it looks that way in the video above. But, that explanation just doesn't make a bit of sense if anyone spent a moment to think about it. How could that kind of gesture by any official delegation possibly help any nation unless there is open hostility between them. Plus, if you look at this video,

If you look at this version of the video (basically omits the split screen of the first one), it's very clear that when he reaches out, he has stepped 3-4 feet past the person that it appears to have snubbed him. It's a combination of camera angle and a pathological willingness to believe just about anything when viewing Obama through irrationally partisan eyes to the point of believing just about any kind of nonsense (and props to smn, paul, and you for your credulity in the face of your obvious dislike of Obama). Realistically, these are highly scripted events and if these were Russian diplomats, Medvedev would be the one accountable for their behavior.




The bigger question out of this isn't just that people are willing to believe this. It's that they're willing to cheer it on. I don't care how big of a douchebag you think Obama is, I would expect everyone to be pretty outraged if indeed foreign diplomats (flunkies though they may be) did this to a US president. Even Carter/Obama. And, I mean outraged at the Russians as well as our leader.

I will offer this story - I met a Persian man - he's been in the US for 25 years or so - this past weekend. He said he was ashamed of his leadership when the revolution happened. He was ashamed of Ahmadinijad. He says he's now ashamed of the leadership now that Obama is president. He talked about how weak America looks now that he's the leader. He went on and talked about Barak Hussein Obama ... he said "I can call him Hussein". (You've got to envision his hand turning away as he says "his" and pointing his finger up in the air when he says "my"). "His father was muslim. My father was muslim. His middle name is Hussein. My name is Hussein." He was pretty interesting to talk to. He talked about America and said Americans don't always appreciate how good it is here, but he mentioned that he had lived in Germany and England before coming here. He pointed out that no-one makes fun of his accent here. That said, in general the Persians I know are all over the map as far as what they expected Obama to do or how well he's done in dealing with Iran.