A lot of sources are saying that the queen reached out first (link here), therefore it's ok. I think it's funny that otherwise it would somehow be a terrible thing.

"The Brits, with their outdated monarchy, still gasp and twitter when somebody breaks their silly protocol."

Some of them do. Some are so uninterested they aren't even aware, can't be bothered following links, and don't give a damn.

Back in the 90's the Australian PM touched the sacred one's back and was dubbed by the UK press "The lizard of OZ" so M Obama got off lightly.

Whilst I appreciate the slightly tongue-in-cheek nature of Amy's piece, protocol has its place, and the 'rules' are there for a reason.

Protocol stops politicians and diplomats from getting in a tizzy if they're greeted in the wrong order - you'd think it wouldn't matter, but unfortunately it matters a great deal (to them). It gives them a framework so that they can mouth platitudes at each other in safety (whilst the real work gets done elsewhere).

The one about hugging/touching the Queen is there to stop her getting mobbed by the thousands of people that usually come out to see her. I'm sure that she, personally, didn't give a flying fig about Michelle coming over all touchy-feely. She probably had a bigger laugh about it today than you did.

So they question to ask is if the President of the United States came to my place of work and I can continue to sit and not give him his respect due.

It may seems silly but their is a reason to do said actions - at time protocol, other times respect. I may not like King Obama but I would still stand.

The question is to ask how would the media have responded if Barbara Bush had done this?

*huff*

All right then, I'll come back out to play.

Can't agree with you, Amy. Silly, yes, but protocol is protocol. Period. That these dumbasses we've got leading us can't be bothered to learn it shows just how highly they think of themselves in relation to everyone else on earth.

What if the Queen just stayed seated and threw him a wave while continuing to text-message Prince William, when Obama came in? Doubt he'd think that was no big deal.

And I personally find monarchy silly. I don't know that we have the right to mock, though, given what we've done over here.

I still thinks that the Queen really needs a hug.

:backs away from Amy with a look of horror, hoping for a lick! :D

There are different levels of protocol. There's a big difference virutally ignoring someone and not doing something "quite right." I think her majesty could use a good grope.

That last post almost made sense in English. I think I need a hug from Obama.

in which case I'll usually just lick them.
- - - - - - -
Hey, you're right after all - some people should not get married or breed...

The little old lady queen, who looks more like a pet than a ruler in the photos taken with the president and first lady, is apparently not supposed to be touched by mere mortals.

Silly Amy. The queen was touched by Michelle Obama. She was not touched by a mere mortal.

Well the one that hit me today was the speech from Michelle to the school children. She was saying something like "I'm here today because of I got a good education, worked hard, blah, blah, blah...."

The lines that immediately popped into my head is that he went to Harvard to get his B.A. degree and you went to get your Mrs. degree.

Then it was "No, you got here because your idiot husband got elected. Otherwise you'd just be a lawyer in Chicago, or some other city."

She got off easy. No back rub and nobody puked in her lap.

I wonder if she was ignorant of proper protocol, or deems herself above it?

It might be a silly rule. That doesn't matter. Polite people respect the customs of the countries they visit. There is a word for people who give gratuitous offence. I think it applies here.

This is a developing pattern.

Any of y'all see the video of Obama shaking the hand of a young Marine trying to salute his commander in chief?

Or how about the totally awesome 25-dvd set of movie classics he gave to the Prime Minister (that don't even play in English dvd players due to regional coding). The minister's gift to Obama? A pen holder crafted from the timbers of the Victorian anti-slave ship HMS Gamet.

There's such a thing as being *too* regular Joe and someone needs to sit the Obamas down and tell them that.

Actually, she was making 120K until right after her husband was elected to the Senate, at which point her salary suddenly took a huge jump to 317K, when she was awarded a position specially created for her. How convenient! Shortly afterward, Obama passed an $1M earmark for the hospital. The position was dissolved days after Michelle went to Washington. So she didn't exactly make it all on her own.

Timeline, chart and links are here:

http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2009/01/chart-michelle-obamas-salary.html

Screw that, John Paulson. I feel free to ignore any politian up to and including the President if they come to my work place. If I look up (I'm not standing no matter how much I approve of them, not on my painful knees) smile warmly and offer my hand, it says a lot. If I don't like them, I'll go right on working whether the boss likes it or not. I am an American, damn it.

That said: I am, however, a regular Joe American, not First Lady. If you are in that position, it would behoove you to learn a little etiquette and, painful knees and all then I would follow the proper protocol.

I think it's an overreaction but it seemed to me that she did not know what she was supposed to do in that clip and it should have been her business to find out before she was meeting the lady. Don't they have any diplomats or anything to coach them on these things beforehand? Perhaps we should send Miss Manners to the White House.

> Dislike her for her politics,
> but give her her props for
> her accomplishments.

List the accomplishments.

She was uniformly described as "a high-powered executive" during the campaign. And if memory serves, she was paid $140,000 - $160,000 for her work at a hospital.

But after she left, she wasn't replaced.

Great arms, though. Great arms for hugging.

but give her her props for her accomplishments.

I'm not arguing that she worked her way up from a middle class background, I'm arguing her statements.

If you saw/heard the clip -- it sounded like it was her hard work that put her in a position to be addressing a group of students in an English school.

She could have been a SAHM with no college education and had the same opportunity to address those students. The only reason that she is there is because her husband is the president.

I very much doubt that as a hospital exec from Chicago, she would have been invited to address a group of students in an English school.

"Because a woman has a family doesn't mean she's a bubble-head looking for a free ride. This woman apparently made $300K as a hospital administrator. Dislike her for her politics, but give her her props for her accomplishments."

This is a really odd statement from Amy. The woman made beaucoup money at a made-up title because of her husband. Harvard's not hard to get into, I did it, esp if you're a black woman. And I'm not impressed by the education they give at all. Not to take away from the fact that she did much better than most blacks do. But she is not one who's made it on her mind alone.

The White House employs an entire protocol division. Maybe, they should make use of it! There are a lot of little things that insult people in other countries. The leader of this one, and his family representing us, should bother to learn them.

It's not as bad as the days when queens had lice in their hair.

"It's not as bad as the days when queens had lice in their hair."

My coffee is now on my monitor. Thanks.