Bush Ducks Shoe Thrown at Him in Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office

By Edwin Chen

Dec. 14 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush ducked a shoe thrown at him during a press conference in the Iraqi prime minister’s office.

Bush wasn’t hit by the shoe, which sailed over his head. The president shrugged and said “I’m OK” after the incident in Baghdad today. The man who threw the shoe shouted in Arabic, was wrestled to the ground and taken away.

“It doesn’t bother me,” Bush said. He said it showed free speech in a democracy.

To contact the reporter on this story: Edwin Chen in Baghdad at echen32@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: December 14, 2008 12:40 EST
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206...&refer=home

"A man was wrestled to the ground after throwing his shoes at President Bush during a news conference."

Will we ever see him again?

Let's take up a donation to give the man a whole wardrobe of shoes -- lol-- great video for history.

Maybe "W" will be content with just hiding out in that new Dallas million dollar plus home -- shoe proofed.


lenal

It's funny. Kind of like a pie in the face. It wouldn't be as funny if Bush had not ducked. Bush is joking about it now, but that reporter will probably become his last torture victim, at least while his still the president.

It's not at all like pie in the face. In the Arab world, throwing your shoe at someone (he threw BOTH) is the worst sort of insult you can make. It's that way in their culture.

I was speaking more about our culture and why it's funny to some of us. Anything that isn't physically damaging (although it could have been) is a little funny, especially when it doesn't result in injury or sickness, like a pie in the face. In a way, it's a good thing that most Americans don't know if, or just how insulting it is to our country. It's nice that we live in a country that can laugh about this and even our president. But again, it wouldn't have been as funny had there been a physical injury.