Many of the most memorable images of President George W. Bush during his two stormy White House terms convey grim stories. But the sight of him ducking as two thrown shoes sailed over him Sunday in Baghdad provided some final-act comic relief. As a New York Post headline aptly put it Monday: "Lame duck."
commander in chief by trying to block that second shoe at their joint news conference.
The shoes were hurled by Muntadar al-Zeidi, a correspondent for Al-Baghdadia television, an Iraqi-owned station based in Egypt. The irate "journalist" shouted at Mr. Bush as the first shoe flew: "This is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog." Then, as the second shoe dropped (finally): "This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq."
Mr. al-Zeidi accented his rudeness with his choice of projectile. In traditional Arab culture, showing the soles of your shoes is a major insult, as demonstrated in 2003 when many Iraqis pounded a fallen Baghdad statue of Saddam Hussein with their shoes.
President Bush took those parting — and errant — shots in gracious stride, quipping soon after he eluded them: "If you want the facts, it's a size 10 shoe that he threw."
As for Mr. al-Zeidi, he remained in Iraqi custody Monday as thousands protested for his release. He could face charges of "insulting a foreign leader" and even serve some jail time. If so, maybe he should go barefoot.
We'd also give him a counter dose of modern Western culture by publicly admonishing him with this fitting putdown from the title character (played by Mike Myers) in the 1997 spy-film spoof "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery":
"Who throws a shoe? Honestly, you fight like a woman."
