12/14/2008
Bush Doesn't Let the Shoe Hit Him on the Way Out
The man knows how to duck and cover, that's for sure.
Bloomberg reports: "In Arab culture, throwing shoes is a grave show of disrespect. 'This is the farewell kiss, you dog,' the man shouted in Arabic. After U.S. troops pulled down a statue of former dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003, Iraqi bystanders tossed shoes at it, according to news reports at the time. Bush said today’s incident was an example of free speech in a democracy. The man threw the shoes from about 25 feet away as Bush, standing with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, made formal remarks before the signing of the Iraqi-U.S. agreement. Maliki tried to block the second thrown shoe as it flew toward Bush, according to video of the incident shown on television. The shoe-thrower, who was in a group of journalists, was wrestled to the ground and taken away. 'This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq,' shouted the man, later identified by the Associated Press as Muntadar al-Zeidi, a correspondent for Al-Baghdadia television, an Iraqi- owned station based in Cairo, Egypt."
Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...
Posted 5:47 PM EST by Andy Towle in George W. Bush, Iraq, News | Permalink
Like it?
Subscribe to FREE Towleroad daily headlines with our RSS feed!
RECENT STORIES:
Comments
You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.
I guess he didn't get the cha-cha heels he wanted for Christmas.
Posted by: DawnDavenport | Dec 14, 2008 6:00:56 PM
Wow. Such an insult. That has to sting Bush hard, what a cultural insult and an act of public humiliation.
You really do reap what you sew.
Posted by: Gay Power Living | Dec 14, 2008 6:06:03 PM
I mean sow. I think...too much Benedryl playing with my head.
Posted by: Gay Power Living | Dec 14, 2008 6:06:50 PM
Muntadar Al-Zeidi is my new personal hero. On another note, in the scuffle to subdue the shoe thrower, Dana Perino suffered a black eye. I can hardly wait to post that picture on my Facebook profile!
Posted by: peterparker | Dec 14, 2008 6:26:20 PM
Is it me or did the secret service take a long time to come to the rescue of the president. I understand the first shoe getting off but the second shoe had to be taken off and then thrown and the secret service was just coming into the picture.
Posted by: Kim W. | Dec 14, 2008 7:07:37 PM
FREE On-Demand TV Shows (Full), Movies (Full), Music (6 million digital quality tracks), Unlimited Games, Easy Money, and College Educations (Stanford, Oxford, Notre Dame and more) @ InternetSurfShack.com
Posted by: G | Dec 14, 2008 7:18:28 PM
I think the guy is an idiot for doing this, despite the fact that I can understand his motivations. And, this would be a funny story, but for some reason his station manager believes he will be killed for his actions. http://www.ajc.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/US_President_And_White_House_Advisers/Bush_Notebook.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_newstab
Posted by: Cadence | Dec 14, 2008 8:18:01 PM
"In Arab culture, throwing shoes is a grave show of disrespect."
Right, because in America it means I love you. Come on, people, use your brains!
The guy wanted to either hurt Bush or humiliate him. He threw the thing that was most likely to accomplish his goal. Nothing to do with "Arab culture" whatever that means.
Posted by: Sami | Dec 14, 2008 8:20:41 PM
Here's hoping Helen Thomas will get a chance to throw her flats at him before he vacates the WhiteHouse Press Room for the last time!
Posted by: Chapeau | Dec 14, 2008 8:49:54 PM
I can't believe it has taken 8 years for someone to finally try to inflict some degree of pain on this sad excuse for a human being.GW will go down in history as one of the most destructive political figures of our time. Just an interesting observation. The secret service agents seemed rather slow to respond to the incident. I have no doubt that they will be more than happy to see a change of President who is finally worth protecting.
Posted by: James | Dec 14, 2008 9:36:07 PM
Good thing for him it was just a shoe!
Posted by: Ty | Dec 14, 2008 10:09:46 PM
Those reflexes make me think he has some practice from Laura throwing things at him.
Posted by: Rick in Ohio | Dec 14, 2008 11:34:07 PM
Hi, Sami? Welcome to learning about cultures which are not your own.
Showing the soles of shoes to someone is a sign of contempt in Arab culture. When Saddam was toppled, people beat his pictures and the big statue with shoes. It was quite intentional, and he called Bush the equivalent of an S.O.B. in Arabic, which he surely is in any language.
It is interesting to note that the secret service was rather slow; I mean, getting two shoes launched at fairly close range? That's just nuts. I think they just don't care any more. I will give credit to Shrub though. He effectively dodged the shoes and didn't cower and hide, which would have been hillarious with Al-Maliki just standing there watching.
Posted by: So Left I'm Right | Dec 15, 2008 1:28:16 AM
Thanks for the culture lesson, So Left I'm Right. The thing is I'm an Arab, so you kinda wasted you breath.
Yes, it's impolite to show the sole among Arabs, but throwing you shoe at someone is pretty much a universal sign of disrespect, wouldn't you say?
Also, he didn't call him a son of a bitch, he called him a dog, which has the connotation of being sub-human. The word is "kalb." Son of a bitch would be "ibn kalb." :)
Posted by: Sami | Dec 15, 2008 2:32:17 AM
Gee, I thought it was funny !
Posted by: Hephaistion | Dec 15, 2008 3:12:11 AM
The reporter was from an exiled Baathist television channel. Yeah, Bush gets a shoe thrown at him, funny, but understand that if that guy had his way Saddam Hussein would still be in power. That'd be lovely.
Posted by: Dixie Flatline | Dec 15, 2008 4:03:16 AM
As if we didn't already know the contempt that people have for Bush and his murderous policies, not only in Iraq but around the world.
Posted by: gwyneth cornrow | Dec 15, 2008 6:20:24 AM
Multiple choice punchlines/headlines:
1) Heel to the Chief.
2) Two more soles lost in Iraq.
3) Bush instep with the times.
4) President ducks reporter's arch comment.
5) Despite shoe attack, Bush has polished performance.
6) Bush retains footing after incident.
7) Shoes distract from Bush feat.
Posted by: gr8guyca | Dec 15, 2008 6:34:43 AM
Will the white house lawn now be covered in shoes of passers-by?
Posted by: Anukki | Dec 15, 2008 6:40:22 AM
Over ONE MILLION civilian deaths!
GW Bush has the blood of over ONE MILLION innocent civilain death in Iraq alone. He deserved more than a shoe...
Posted by: Hdtex | Dec 15, 2008 7:26:15 AM
Just think: If that guy would have been the shoe-bomber, this would have had an entirely different outcome.
Posted by: Johnny | Dec 15, 2008 8:32:34 AM
LAME DUCK!!!!!
Posted by: luke | Dec 15, 2008 8:56:26 AM
Oh I see he found the missles of mass distruction..... just prior to leaving office.
Posted by: Blitze | Dec 15, 2008 9:30:18 AM
Bush could have been spared this humiliation if gutless Democrats like Pelosi, Reid, Clinton, Kennedy and Obama had impeached him and Cheney. They also neglected to convene an international War Crimes Tribunal.
Bush is a war criminal. The big difference between him and earlier war criminals is that they worked for Krupp and he works for Texaco. He earned the contempt of most of the world, rednecks excepted, but the truth is that his crimes will go unpunished.
Bush’s regime is a clear example of the lack of democracy and the powerlessness of Americans and a terrible example of how that led to genocide against people from Palestine to Pakistan.
Posted by: Bill Perdue | Dec 15, 2008 9:56:54 AM
dixie flatline
Actually Sadam still in power would be better than the current situation
1- Fewer civilians killed under Sadam than under US occupation
2- Iran having no influence in the area
3- Someone who yes was, and would be our first line of defense reaction to Iran
4- A secularist who hated Osama Bin Laden and far right religious islam
5- The oil flowed under Saddam thus contributing to cheaper world oil prices
6- Again a secularist that allowed women to be educated and hold jobs while not having to wear head scarves.
7- A secularist that saw the largest number of PHDs under his rule in an arab country
Saddam's biggest crime was his giving money to palestinian terrorists' families(a whole different kettle of fish as compared to al queda) who carried out attacks against Israel. A whole different subject matter that could have been dealt with in a different way.
============================
Anyway; who knew bush actually has a skill = dodging and weaving
Posted by: Jimmyboyo | Dec 15, 2008 10:13:21 AM