'Ike was supreme commander of allied forces and had the cred. '
Sorry, I don't buy that. What cred did Nixon have?
Either the president can't bow, or he can. I say he can. I say most people commonly give others a cordial head nod in formal situations, in everyday life. You have a 6 foot 2 Obama meeting a 5 foot nothing president, and he engages in this disarming move.
So I don't care about it. I don't care if Nixon, Ike, Bush, whoever did it. As long as we have all the nukes, the bases, and we're the top dog, fuccem.