Bow? What bow?

Hello, my name is Tommy Flanagan, White House spokesman. I wanted to clear up some misconceptions about the president's meeting with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. You see this picture? Some have said that the president is bowing to King Abdullah. Well, that's just not true. The president did not bow. No, he, um... he was bending down. Yeah. Bending down so he could look King Abdullah in the eye. Yeah. That's what he did. Then he ... saw a ninja. Yeah, a ninja. The ninja was hiding and the president feared for King Abdullah's safety. So he dove after the ninja and beat him up. With one han... one finger. That how powerful Barack Obama is. He beats up ninjas. With one finger. His pinkie finger. Look at the picture again. See the ninja? Of course you don't! It's a ninja! But the president saw him. Because he has x-ray eyes. He can see ninjas. Yeah. Then he saw the king choking. And gave him the Heimlich Maneuver. Yeah. See? He's giving him Heimlich Maneuver from the front! It's a secret, special Heimlich Maneuver. And I taught him how to do it. Yeah. It's called the "Flanagan Maneuver." That's the ticket. The president is a hero. Because he saved the king. King Abdullah will probably give him his daughter to marry. Kings do that, you know. Then, to top it off, he auditioned for Dancing with the Stars right there on the spot. See? He's dancing. And he won! The president is the best dancer ever. Yeah. So I hope this has cleared things up. The president didn't bow to the king of Saudi Arabia. No, he would never do such a silly thing. Barack Obama knows what he's doing. He's ... experienced! Yeah, that's the ticket. He's the smartest, bravest, most qualified man ever to sit in the Oval Office. Or my wife's name isn't ... Morgan Fairchild.

Obama heard the comments before he didn't hear them...

A lot of politicians get blasted for flip-flopping on issues.

Former President George Bush (R) can testify to that. Remember the flak he caught for saying "no new taxes," before he gave in to the Democrats in Congress and let a tax increase through?

Senator John F. Kerry (D-MA) can testify to that, too. Remember how much trouble he had overcoming the charges of flip-flopping on the issues? He does, that's for sure.

But there's a difference between these two men and Senator Barack H. Obama (D-IL).

Obama made a speech today about race relations, spurred by controversial comments his pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, made from the pulpit over the years. The pulpit in the church where Obama is a member.

In his speech today, Obama said he had heard the comments that Rev. Wright made:

Did I ever hear him make remarks that could be considered controversial while I sat in church? Yes. Did I strongly disagree with many of his political views? Absolutely ... just as I'm sure many of you have heard remarks from your pastors, priests, or rabbis with which you strongly disagreed.

But, just the other day, Obama wrote on Huffington Post that he hadn't heard the comments:

The statements that Rev. Wright made that are the cause of this controversy were not statements I personally heard him preach while I sat in the pews of Trinity or heard him utter in private conversation. When these statements first came to my attention, it was at the beginning of my presidential campaign.

Do you see the difference?

Bush and Kerry changed their positions. They flip-flopped.

Obama didn't flip-flop. He has been caught in an outright lie.

Also following Obama's speech: Michelle Malkin, Don Surber, Protein Wisdom, Blogs for John McCain, Outside the Beltway, MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy

Media coverage: Washington Post, MSNBC