President Bush ducked two shoes that were thrown at him by a journalist during a news conference in Iraq today. This blogger is not sure if he is more impressed by the journalist's considerable boldness or by the President's cat-like reflexes.
Either way, the event speaks volumes about the way America's president is currently perceived in Iraq and the Arab world in general - being touched by a shoe is quite the dishonor in most parts of the world. Bush shrugged the incident off, but he may lose a bit of sleep over it. Legacy matters to this president just as much as it has for all of them.
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December 18, 2008 by Mohindra Rupram (not verified),
Immediately afterwards, President Bush said he was pleased about democracy in Iraq and the freedoms that the journalist had been afforded. Such freedoms would not have been possible under Saddam Hussein, apparently. I suppose he did not know that the journalist was dragged away by the Iraqi Prime Minister's security detail to an undisclosed location, where he was beaten and tortured. He has since apologized and begged for a pardon, or at least that's what the Prime Minister's office said.
Thank you, President Bush. And the say Barack Obama has a Messiah complex...
December 14, 2008 by People Power Granny (not verified),
I'm glad he wasn't hurt, but I had to smile a little when I heard that an Iraqi journalist threw a pair of shoes at President Bush today. What was your reaction? This is what I write about tonight in my post at peoplepowergranny.blogspot.com. Let me know in my poll, too.