December 15, 2008
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An Artful Dodge by a Lame Duck
You probably know about the shrub dodging two shoes thrown at him on Sunday in Baghdad by an Iraqi journalist. Most of you have probably seen the video. I haven’t see it. I don’t think I will. It would surely dispel my delighted imagining of him getting them splat in the middle of that smug grin of his.
I heard the breaking story on the radio yesterday afternoon and immediately called Greyfox at work to relay the news to him. I knew it would make his day on a slow Sunday at the Xmas Bazaar. I’m sure there were similar calls and text messages flying every which way as the word got out.
I went ahead with the editing, posted my xmas entry, then did some work on my subscriptions list. (In case you haven’t noticed, the Xanga Team has made it easier to edit subscriptions.) I might not have blogged about the incident at all if the first thing I heard when I turned on the radio this morning had been something other than the angry mob in Baghdad shouting for the release of the man who threw those shoes.
Most sources I have seen identify the reporter as Muntadar al-Zaidi (or al-Zeidi), but he is also identified as Montasser al-Zaidi, elsewhere. Here are some of the things being written about him by other reporters:
Journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi, who was kidnapped by militants last year, was being held by Iraqi security and interrogated about whether anybody paid him to throw his shoes at Bush during a press conference the previous day in Baghdad, said an Iraqi official.He was also being tested for alcohol and drugs, and his shoes were being held as evidence, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
Showing the sole of your shoe to someone in the Arab world is a sign of extreme disrespect, and throwing your shoes is even worse. Iraqis whacked a statue of Saddam with their shoes after US Marines toppled it to the ground following the 2003 invasion.
and…There are a couple of different translations of what he yelled in Arabic. Our favorite is from Politico:
“This is a gift from the Iraqis. This is the farewell kiss, you dog,” the journalist shouted (in Arabic), Steven Lee Myers of The New York Times reported in a pool report to the White House press corps.
Myers reported that the man threw the second shoe and added: “This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq.”
I especially appreciate this one:
When Iraqi journalist Muntadar al-Zaidi heaved his two shoes at the head of President George W. Bush during a press conference in Baghdad, he did something that the White House press corps should have done years ago.Al-Zaidi listened to Bush blather that the half-decade of war he had initiated with the illegal invasion of Iraq had been “necessary for US security, Iraqi stability (sic) and world peace” and something just snapped.
Finally:
As recently as September, Bush told friends that he expected to get a public-relations lift in the waning weeks of his presidency as the media focused on improved conditions in Iraq. Instead, the big news has been about the financial meltdown and the growing recession, and Bush has been blamed by many for the downturn. Iraq has been pushed off the nightly news and the front pages—until the shoe-throwing drew so much attention to an incident that marred Bush’s trip.In addition, White House reporters are worried that the Secret Service and the Bush press office will now impose even more restrictions on correspondents and photographers in an effort to prevent such an incident from happening again. The journalists argue that it was not an American who caused the fuss, so Americans should not have to live with increased security precautions.
Seeya later.
Comments (7)
I did see it and he dismissed it like the dog he is. Too bad he didn’t take the opportunity to show his compassion that he tells us he has for the people. He could have made a great historical statement about the stress and loss to name a few topics. Too bad the guy only had two shoes. The reporters should have handed him some spares.
Bush is such an idiot.
Harrassing the reporter seems like a pretty unfair thing to do, when it was obvious he was simply saying goodbye to Bush in his own way. I doubt the guy was paid by anyone. I’d throw my shoes at Bush for free. (size 12s)
These are certainly interesting times…
I saw the video and he has pretty good ducking instincts. There was this thing about him being so good about ducking questions and being even better about ducking shoes — that was on Today. Not bad…
He does have amazing ducking instincts, even physically. I dunno… glad always to hear a person joke and he joked okay for having a pair of shoes tossed at him.
BUT
My husband and I were talking this morning and it really bothered us so much that this reporter is being held and questioned. My husband comes from a very conservative background, but he just stopped still when he listened to what the man’s dealt with over these years… loss of family, kidnapping, personal torture… We looked at each other and feel more sure that he represents Iraq more than the carefully curried group of reporters in that room.
Too bad indeed the fellow only had two shoes.
According to former president Bush, the shoes were size 10.
Close enough to him to see the size, not close enough to make him duck!
I saw it all… shrub has good instinct, he ducked just in the nick of time both times. And I doubt the shoe-thrower was high or drunk, as his aim was spot on both times.
It’s unfortunate that he’s dealing with more crap now cuz of the tossed shoes. As slow as people were to react to him, they’re lucky he didn’t bring a gun up in there.