Bush and the Iraqi Reporter's Shoe

December 15, 2008 RSS Feed Print

By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog.

Of all the blog entries on President George W. Bush's near -encounter with a shoe, this is my favorite:

Sure we deplore violence as much as the next guy, but that doesn't mean we could entirely suppress a smile when an Iraqui reporter threw not one but two of his shoes at President Bush's press conference and shouted, "This is a gift from the Iraqis; this is the farewell kiss, you dog!" during his surprise visit to Baghdad yesterday. I mean, how many times have you wanted to hurl something other than invective at your TV when W. starts fulminating?

One thing I've not seen said about the shoe incident is how quickly President Bush ducked to get out of the way of the projectile. Isn't his timing nothing short of impressive? It's a testament to his physical prowess. Too bad we can't say the same about his mental prowess. Although ducking flying objects requires a bit of brainpower, as well, we've not seen him apply the same mental prowess to his job, maybe this is a sign there is actually some brainpower in the Oval Office.

What I'd also like to address is the issue of respect for the office of the presidency if not for the person occupying it. All Americans have great respect for the office. But that does not mean we can't crack a smile when the guy who occupies it is lambasted, and that guy has done more to ruin the country than any of his predecessors.

Tags:
George W. Bush,
media,
Iraq,
journalism

Reader Comments Read all comments (16)

Add Your Thoughts
Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanity. For more information, please see our Comments FAQ.

The reporter had good reason to throw his shoes at "The Shrub". Listen to the news for goodness sakes before blaming the reporter and find out what was behind it. In my opinion it was a shame they weren't golf shoes!

Jane of MO 7:15PM December 17, 2008

How can you respect a man who allowed the attacks of 911 happen after being warned, or how can you respect a man who started an illegal war claiming there were WMDs when there weren't any, how can you respect a man who let one of own cities and several states drown, and how can you respect a man of whom there are photos of him holding hands with Shieks that are sucking all of the wealth out of this country and the air from the atomosphere with their oil and how can you respect a man who actually let the perpetrator of the worst terrorist attack on our soil go free, he was also at the helm when the recession started. He didn't even respect our men and women in the service, some of us had to buy protective gear for the soldiers in the field, and let's not forget his torture policies, or his disregard for the environment. If he wanted respect he should have conducted himself like a man who cared about his country and the middle class and he has done neither. So I don't wish him physical harm but I can understand why he gets little or no respect from most of us and the world. And to the jerk showing a total disrespect for an entire race as the man from Florida does here is not called for, I could go on... You all want us to respect a war criminal and incompetent like Bush but show total disregard for a whole race of people or anyone who didn't vote and cowtow to the Republicans and St. George. What you all ought to do is put yourself in the place of the people whose nation we destroyed and see how you would feel if the "shoe" was on the other foot. No wonder the rest of the world thinks Americans are stupid, disrespectful and uncaring. There's a great deal of ignorance, hate, deceit and intolerance in this country.

DavidBronx of NY 4:06PM December 17, 2008

Huh? Maybe because of inane comments like this that prove that many republicans NEED to spread the wealth around when it comes to blame and guilt. This mess is all Bush, all the time. Oh yeah, and the dead on both sides, and especially their families. Wake up, I don't care if you are Republican, forget your ego. Understand that Bush does not even truly reflect the idea's and wishes of his own party!!!!! He is a failure, and he, and his cronies have ruined millions of lives here and abroad. He is not a criminal because he is a Republican, he is just corrupt.

of AZ 3:09PM December 17, 2008

Bonnie Erbe

Bonnie Erbe

Bonnie Erbe is a contributing editor at U.S. News & World Report and hosts PBS's weekly news analysis program, To the Contrary with Bonnie Erbe. She also writes a weekly syndicated newspaper column for Scripps Howard News Service.

advertisement

Robert Schlesinger

Get God Out of the Gay Marriage Debate

The government shouldn't tell churches who they should marry, but neither should churches tell the government which marriages it can recognize.

Concordia Ship Disaster

The Costa Concordia luxury cruise ship keeled over after it ran aground off the coast of Italy.

advertisement