Dec 17 2008
Bush and The Flying Shoe
This is the latest talk of the town.
It’s a video everyone’s talking about and checking out on YouTube. I read a report saying that Bush’s shoe” video has been seen more than 5.5 million times online, and this just within half a day! It may just be on track to beat the Obama victory speech video in terms of viral reach in a 48-hour period. There’s even a video game on this that was created within a 24-hour window. Hmmm… Our question then, “Is that how Bush will be remembered?”
President George W. Bush was in Iraq over the weekend for a surprise visit and during his press conference in Baghdad, an Iraqi reporter hurled his shoes at Pres. Bush.
The reporter shouted “It is the farewell kiss, you dog” before throwing his shoe.
And then another shout of angry words “This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq.”
Bush ducked successfully both times and the shoe just whizzed past his head. Lucky duck!
It’s not difficult to see why this is a talking point in any water-cooler conversation. The video of a man throwing his shoes at President George W. Bush is sure to -quote- live on in infamy for many reasons: the sheer brazenness of the act, the incredible lack of adequate security surrounding Mr Bush, and the sad commentary on the US leader’s standing in the world during his waning days in office. What makes this story more sensational is that it’s the President we’re talking about here, the leader of the most influential country in the world.
And adding spice to the story is the fact that in arab culture, showing the sole of your shoe is a great insult. To hit someone with that shoe as the journalist tried with President George W. Bush – is seen as even worse.
The shoe is considered dirty because it is on the ground and associated with the foot, the lowest part of the body. Hitting someone with a shoe shows that the victim is regarded as even lower.
So everyone has an opinion, and everyone seems prepared to share it and many are cracking jokes at it – we see cheeky headlines to wisecracks on air. Well, sometimes poking a little fun at awkward or bizarre situations is OK. But with this, I wonder if it falls into that category.
This act clearly highlights a bigger problem that we face today – it reminds us that the war in Iraq is not finished and there is still a sense of anger among many in that part of the world. The world has a responsibility in bringing back peace and stability to the region. It’s a heavy duty that cannot be laughed at.
But regardless of the above point, a little bit more respect would be decent I feel. President Bush is still the President.
Calling anyone a dog for that matter and hurling a shoe at him is bad enough… but to look on and find amusement in assaulting any president… it just aint right…even if you disagree with him.
12 responses so far
I think the real sad thing is how the Americans themselves are laughing at him. But I feel he is admirable because he actually makes jokes out of situations like these instead of letting it get him down or over-react to it. That is really cool in my book because his first instinct is to react as a human would, not wearing the armour of ego of Presidency. He also has the magnanimity to embrace all the disdain and anger against him and stand up to his actions.
And the shoe-thrower could only be blamed for short-sightedness – not in missing the target, but failing to consider the scenario of what if Iraq was still under a dictator today. Would less widows and more orphans be better than less humans living in political, cultural, religious and spiritual oppression and persecution? Would preserving lives and bodies intact be meaningful if minds and souls are vanquished?
History will judge whether he was a good President. But certain things don’t require time to pass before becoming apparent.
Being a true leader requires courage to do what you believe is right, given the information (or intelligence in this case) available to you at that point in time. Those armchair critics and historians will always win, they have hindsight on their side, they will always have the luxury of time with which facts surface completely to frame their statements to perfection.
But YOU don’t. You can’t put a few million people’s future on hold to “sit out” a pressing issue, just so you can avoid making decisions that would leave an indelible mark on your name in history. You can only grit your teeth, stick to your gut instincts and make your “informed” decision – which often turns out to be no more logical than tossing a coin. And do you really think those who opposed the war at the start really knew they were right? Hardly so, they just chose the other side of the coin which ended face-up.
Bush only did what he must to protect his people and secure their future strategic interests. And a large part of his job is dirty, underhand and covert. A lot of his decisions will never be explained or revealed until perhaps 50 yrs later when they declassify some CIA documents. And if they don’t, you would have to live with going down in history as the “bad guy”.
If Obama were to become a great President, he would have to be prepared to have worse things thrown at him.
Mr Obama plays basketball well and I bet he likes to watch NBA.
I guess the favourite sport for Mr Bush is dodge ball and there will be a National Dodgeball Association (NDA) soon… XD
What a regrettable incident….he missed, damnit!!!!
A flying shoe cannot compare with a swinging rifle.
http://www.tamilnation.org/forum/sachisrikantha/060729rajiv_jvp.htm
That’s what happened to the Indian PM.
So what happened to the naval rating that hit the PM?
Answer here: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070731/asp/frontpage/story_8129233.asp
Hello Suzanne,
I am no English expert,
You wrote in your Blog as shown below:
But irregardless of the above point,
It should just be.. regardless
Cheers.
With great power comes great responsibility. Not every wise moves you made will be cheered but any single mistake you made will be condemned.
He will be better off if he put more focus on the economy. Or at least get a better sense of the public sentiments before making a decision which has complex implications.
Hi Rupert,
you caught me there! yup, u’re right
have changed it. thanks for pointing it out.
Suzanne
Suzanne
as a news host, how would you react to a flying shoe or flying-who-knows-what if it was to happen to you?
Mark my words – George W. Bush will go down in history as the worst US President ever.
period.
I think some how that President George W. Bush deserved that, but why did he duck so fast! He said that Iraq had deadly weapons but they could not find any. I don’t know why in the first place Bush would said that. Now with the war between Israel & Gaza, I just hope that just one day there will be totally world peace .
No reply… -_-
*Throws at you the lucky shoe*
Correct. I could’t agree more with u suzanne. We must respect each other.. even that we hate him/her/them…
-andri-