Dec 15 2008
Honestly Man, Who Throws a Shoe??
I know it’s already been written to death but it’s seriously one of those moments that deserves it. The video of Dubya dodging those shoes is going to be one of the lasting images of his presidency. Remember his daddy’s most famous photo op? (Hint: “I don’t remember eating that.”)
Here’s one snapshot of the moment;
Here are some of my observations;
1) The fact that the size (10!) is one of the most reported details just cracks me up.
2) The look on Bush’s face after he dodged the first one, only to realize in horror, that this man is one of the few Iraqi’s that can afford two shoes.
3) The fact that the man had time to take off his shoe, throw it, take off his other shoe and throw it. Honestly, if the secret service aren’t going to take a shoe for you, what next?
It also reminds me of the difference of our leadership, their accessibility and how they handle confrontations. Anyone remember the last guy who got in a Canadian PM’s face? Did security tackle him? Not quite…
Ah, those were the days…
Throwing a shoe is a huge insult in the Arab world. It’s their way of saying, “you’re as worthless as the dirt on my feet”. Besides, it was likely the only conceivable “weapon” our steadfast journalist had on him. I would think that security was rather tight before they let anyone in that room.
You know what else is an insult in the Arab world? Invading their country, destabilizing everything, galvinizing insurgents and then talking about how much you’ve helped them. They hate that.