Unlike the previous video, this one is real, as the line between satire and Bush’s ‘Presidency’ grows increasingly impossible to discern in his waning days, and as his final visit to Iraq becomes as embarrassing as his first (when he delivered a fake turkey to the troops).
But his appearance at a news conference here was interrupted by a man, apparently a journalist, who leaped to his feet and threw one shoe at the president, who ducked and narrowly missed being struck. Chaos ensued. He threw a second shoe, which also narrowly missed Mr. Bush. The man was roughly 12 feet from the lecturn in the center of two rows of chairs, about two feet from a pool of reporters. A scrum of security agents descended on the man and wrestled him, first to the floor and then out of the ornate room where the news conference was taking place.
TV news coverage has noted that throwing shoes is one of the culture’s greatest insults. So is calling someone a “dog.” Unlike hundreds of thousands of Iraqis killed by Bush’s attacks over the last 5 years, however, he was able to survive this one with his life, and even make a joke about it…
UPDATE: The video of both shoes dropping follows below. Also, MSNBC reports that WH Spokesliar Dana Perino may have ended up with a black eye. Both a literal, and an unbelievably symbolic one at the same time…
I thought this incident was funny as hell but probably not for the same reason as all the haters. Shows how agile the old man still is. You go Bush, duck and weave.
“Haters”, people against mass murder, whatever…
Obviously, not the first time he’s had to duck something thrown at him. Gotta give Dubya props for being quick… and that’s all I will EVER give him props for. Imagine if the guy actually landed a heel to the forehead. The new “Shoe-Bomber”? Can he be detained in Gitmo for that?
I’m hoping that the Iraqi authorities got him out of there and held a parade in his honor. He’s obviously a hundred times more of a man than * and deserves at least a parade.
In my opinion it was a shame he wasnt hit square in the face! Bush made a mess of that country. Democracy isn’t the answer to everyones problems and it doesnt work for every country. The trouble is that Iraq had two groups, the Sunni and the Shia. The Shia were the poor majority and dominated by the wealthier minority the Sunnis. These Sunni were the middle class who were well educated doctors and teachers etc. and were the most secular of the Iraqi people. But since the Shia, who were nonsecular and poorly educated, controlled the oil we ran in there supporting them and destroyed the sunni population or made them refugees and now the more radical bunch is in control all for the sake of friggin oil! The sunnis could have been our most helpful ally in the fight on terror but now do u think those educated individuals will ever forget what we did to them? Were in more danger now than we were after 9/11! And democracy would only further the problems because with the majority being Shia they will have radical control of the country! Way to go Bush! As the most respectable general in the US military Petreas once openly said “If you know why we are here you tell me!” Shortly after he was fired by Rumsfeld because, while he actually made sense, it was against the Bush policies. Thank goodness hes back in there now! Hes the only one I trust!
Put it this way, if the US was invaded by another country and my countrymen, landmarks, and cities destroyed, and I had to take refuge to mexico and most of my family had been killed all for the sake of that country wanting to impose communism or whatever, but their main goal was to take control of our most valuable resources. I dont think I would just throw my shoes at their ignorant leader, Id kill him and absolutely LOATH his country and probably swear revenge…. but then again im just a 19 year old girl who couldnt possibly know anything about how this world works right?
REPORTER: “As you see, the shoe sailed over his head…”
Hee-lar-yous.
I have now watched this video five times as holy catharsis. O! If only one shoe had landed true. The trajectory is so promising!
Turns out our lame duck ain’t such a lame DUCKER. This quick reflex-response belies his 8 years of pigeon dances, stumbles, pet-goat bumbles, and pretzel choking. Maybe his intense Cheerleading training prepared him for just such a moment. (Certainly had no problems ‘ducking’ his Texas National Air Guard obligations.)
I wonder if the Secret Service will now mandate Press Conferences be shoe-less in the interest of National Security. After all, “No one could have anticipated using shoes as projectiles to slam into the President’s head.”
As for Perino, well, if all she ever gets is a black eye for doing the dirty work of lying to the American People on behalf of this criminal administration, she will have, at least for now, ducked cancer.
From now on, all reporters will be required to take their shoes off at press conferences with the monkey, but they’ll make up some story about why nobody is wearing them.
Looks like Jeannie and I had the same thought at the same time.
Quote of the day
“lame DUCKER”
In Arabic calling someone an animal as in “you dog” is far worse than an American calling someone an A##hole.Culture counts !
Yeah, Larry! Proof of the inter-connectedness of all us Bradbloggers. Election Integrity Collective Consciousness–very reassuring.
Yup–no more smart-pumps. Check your penny-loafers with the men in black. Helen Thomas will have to jettison her Rockport Prowalkers before being banned from the WH press corps for all the usual reasons. And yes, maybe Perino will tell us it’s because the Japanese had it right all along…
Too bad the brave man didn’t walk through some pig shit before entering, coulda got him with some splatter.
woof!
He’s still the president?
Too bad this didn’t happen in Holland.
Finally, a reporter showing Bush the respect he so richly deserves.
.
… Big Dan Only in name ,the word “Bush” will become slang for anything that doesn’t work as planned or is generally an idiotic idea.Now that a heck of a legacy …don’t ya thunk?
Give ‘im a Purple Heart.
The Missing Video “Footage” ;o)
http://www.mofahaimages.com/b3ta/bushpython.gif
http://flash.vg.no/grafikk/2008/bush/kast_sko.html
This is the “throw a shoe on Bush” -game.
In the upper curve you adjust the angle.
In the lower curve you adjust the strength.
And if that wasn’t it, this guy has 3 shoes!
(When it pops yellow you have a hit, when it is red you must throw again)
Kast skoen = Throw the shoe
Kast igjen = Throw again
the question is..
How many shoes has Laura thrown at W?
I feel better now!
Check out the shoe assault videos coming out
Link
if you can dodge a shoe, you can dodge a ball!
heh, my fav was Saddam’s head
Petition for release of shoe hero….
KEEP YOUR OLD WORN SHOES! Save them in case Pres. Doofus comes to town!!! I am going to take the most beatup old shoe I have and one of my 7 yr. old’s (and they are REALLY stinky, believe me!) and send both to “George W. Bush, Interloper President of the U.S., the WHite House, Washington, DC). Do the same.
Excellent, 99! I’d been looking for a link like that all morning. Concerned when I couldn’t find any information re: what happened AFTER the shoe-throwing, and the video ends with Mr. al-Zaidi’s screams. (Not surprisingly, they beat him to a pulp.) Thanks for the link.
Still hoping to find a “thank you Mr. al-Zaidi” site, like the one someone put together for Stephen Colbert after the WH Correspondent’s dinner in ’06.
Even better, Cyteria. Will do. Can’t think of a more apt, fitting protest. Wouldn’t it be grand if millions of Americans did the same? Sort of like a cursing reverse of Mr. Smith goes to Washington, or Miracle on 34th street? I love the idea.
Jeannie
Here’s some more information.
DU has a post saying the journalist throwing the shoe is being tortured. Would not surprise me keeping in mind a disproportianately high number of journalists have been jailed and murdered under the bush reign.Our justice dept. should go over there and demand he is treated fairly. That last sentence is sad, isn’t it?
I’ve been googling for a couple of hours. The report about Camp Cropper is from one single Iraqi blog source, who says he heard it on tv. AntiWar dot com has scared the crap out of me, but al-Zaidi is 28, not 25. I’ve emailed everyone I can think of with the juice to start getting some real answers.
HE BETTER BE SAFE. HE BETTER NOT BE DEAD.
I CAN’T BELIEVE NOBODY’S BEEN SITTING ON WHAT IS HAPPENING TO HIM!
I can’t believe someone in *’s entourage, since it would never be * himself, didn’t make sure he wasn’t harmed before he left.
I’m really flipping and needing to go soak my head. 🙁
99~it would seem he’s okay:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/16/iraqi-who-threw-shoe-at-b_n_151345.html
They would be complete idiots to harm him with all the world-wide attention and support he’s receiving.
But, idiocy has never stopped them before.
I just heard Thomm Hartman talking about broken bones, “signs of torture on his thihgs” and so on. What an outrage – it outrages even a jaded old realist like yours truly. And to think the journalist was just tossing duhbaya his shoe phone, as Condi was trying to get duhbaya’s thoughts on her latest pumps. The second shoe, presumably, was to draw attention to the first one, which was blaring a shock and awe standby riff from the Noriega kidnapping. Seriously, I’m genuinely afraid for the journalist, because if they have seriously beaten him up they may not be able to release him. What story will The Big Dick and his cohorts cook up to explain his disappearance? Allah swooped in and took him up to his virgins? I’m mailing some old shoes and a few bags of pretzels to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, addressed to the Dog in Chief.
Bush finally gets a soul ?
Jeannie
The problem with the AP is that they will say whatever the fascist fucks want them to say, but there is a little report from Al-Jazeera that I believe, because, it seems, they talked to his brother.
Czaragorn
Truly, pretzel-filled old stanky sneakers for * this Christmas.
Look at this 🙂 http://www.myshoesagainstbush.com
these shoe throwing games are too funny