'Creepy' photo of Bush and Abdullah

Interesting post on "pomomusings" (Adam B. Cleaveland)... first he quotes Moby from his blog:

ok, i was just looking at a news site(ap, i think)and they had a picture of president bush and the crown prince of saudi arabia walking around the ranch in crawford and they were HOLDING HANDS while they walked.

ew, that is creepy.

don't get me wrong, i'm not opposed to same sex couples walking around holding hands, but i do find it a bit odd when the president of the united states walks around with the crown prince of saudi arabia and they're so close and intimate that they're holding hands like young lovers.

doesn't anyone else find this odd?

And he went on to comment:

I'm no Bush-fan by any means. Not at all. And I am generally a Moby-fan. But Moby apparently just does not get it here... Here I am actually a little bit impressed with Bush. He knows that it is the custom of the Middle East for [men] to hold hands while they walk together, it's just common. Anyone who has been in Egypt, or Palestine or other places in the Middle East wil tell you - just get used to it. It is how men walk in public. So, Moby (and others) - let's be upset with this picture because of what this says about America's (or rather, Bush's) foreign policy, with the obsession with oil, etc. But c'mon Moby, let's not blog about how this picture is "creepy" because they're holding hands -- I'd expect you to be a bit more culturally-knowledgable than that...

Funny that that this president has been criticized for being less than culturally sensitive since before he was even elected president, but the left in general manages to overlook this over-the-top display of cultural accomodation and find a way to come down on him for being to cozy with the crown prince while trying not to look homophobic about it (tricky!). Adam gets this exactly right.