I ain't making this up. George Bush had two size-10 shoes thrown at him today while appearing in Baghdad with Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi Prime Minister. The shoes were thrown by an irate journalist, Muntadar al-Zeidi, a correspondent for Al-Baghdadia television, an Iraqi-owned station based in Cairo, Egypt. Mr. al-Zeidi accompanied his display of physical prowess with the uttered phrase "dog" which in the Middle East (and anywhere else) is the ultimate insult.
Bush ducked both shoes as they whizzed past his head and landed with a thud against the wall behind him.
What a way to end one's presidency. I think it's time to back that U-Haul up to the White House and best be packing for that drive down to Dallas. Maybe if we're lucky, we might see that practice repeated here in the United States - the sooner the better!
It's not often that a sitting U.S. president flies half-way around the world to appear in public with another country's leader only to dodge flying projectiles (i.e., thrown shoes) while conducting a press conference. I can only say that Bush the Younger has completely outdone Bush the Elder in this regard. Remember the scene in the late '80's in Japan where Bush, Sr. upchucked on the Japanese prime minister. All things considered, I believe "W" managed to eke out a better faux pas than his pappy.
Of course, George still has a ways to go to outdo the current Mexican president, Felipe Calderon, who obtained his presidential confirmation by the Mexican Supreme Court under the most arduous of circumstances. On September 6, 2006 Calderon had to be hustled past thousands of riot police into the Supreme Court building through the back entrance and just as spiritedly hustled back out the same way - in order to receive his paper certification. Supporters of the narrowly defeated (and many say the victim of a stolen presidential election) Andrés Manuel López Obrador had barred the front entrance and vowed not to allow Calderon entry to be confirmed president.
For what it's worth we only have a little over 30 days left in the Bushwacked Presidency. God willing, we'll all wake up on January 20, 2009 and finally witness the restoration of sanity and reason as the guiding principles of this heretofore fascist-wracked Republic.
I wonder if by chance the shoes thrown at our fearless leader were Bruno Mali loafers (the same ones worn by O.J.). Or maybe dockers - after all the Bush compound in Kennebunkport probably has a lot of folks working on their yacht decks outfitted in the same shoe.
As Satchel Paige once said, "Don't look back, those size-10 shoes may be gaining on ya!"
Pete/Marin
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