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Did you hear about the guy who threw a shoe at President Bush?

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Really? He threw a shoe at the President? What a heel.

The shoe flew through the air on its wing-tip.

I wonder if it was the guy’s sole decision to throw the shoe.

Maybe size DOES matter – a size 13 would have nailed President Bush.

I trust the guy got the boot from the press conference.

He was probably nothing but a loafer.

Maybe the guy was mad because of a presidential flip-flop.

I wonder if the guy sneakered in there?

Or maybe he was able to slipper by security?

Could the thrower be charged with assault with a deadly shoe?

These boots are made for throwing, and that’s just what he did……..

I guess he thought, If the shoe fits, throw it.

Topic

This should start tongues wagging

In reply to Did you hear about the guy who threw a shoe at President Bush?

among strait-laced Republicans.

I hear that he missed

In reply to Did you hear about the guy who threw a shoe at President Bush?

Walking home with no shoes, he must have suffered the agony of de feet…

Some things are just too fun. . . . .

In reply to I hear that he missed

…..to let go without the jokes. Well done, Neil! Lots of laughs.

BOOOO…BOOOO….

In reply to Did you hear about the guy who threw a shoe at President Bush?

you are not a shoe in for the next comedy act….

There’s gonna’ be. . . . . .

In reply to BOOOO…BOOOO….

…..dozens of these. Love the laugh.

Before Bush criticises this Iraqi, he should walk a mile in his shoes

In reply to Did you hear about the guy who threw a shoe at President Bush?

and then he’d be out of range.

And the Iraqi won’t have any ammunition, anyway.

no rotten egg?!

In reply to Before Bush criticises this Iraqi, he should walk a mile in his shoes

only a shoe? no rotten vegetables or eggs?!

It would appear

In reply to Did you hear about the guy who threw a shoe at President Bush?

that Mr Zaidi, tried to sock Mr. Bush with a shoe. To Bush’s credit, I would like to have Bush on my team in a dodge ball game.

Easy explanation

In reply to It would appear

http://tinyurl.com/6yzsmk

Politicians are all deft in avoiding the hard and/or painful ones!!

😉

Or as they might have said on Laugh-In

In reply to It would appear

[i]Sock it to me[/i]

I guess President Bush wasn’t the first:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCp8Edp4pfo

I think

In reply to Did you hear about the guy who threw a shoe at President Bush?

He was just trying to be (shoe) tongue in cheek. :p

Funny Max!

In reply to Did you hear about the guy who threw a shoe at President Bush?

I have to say that I was impressed by how both President Bush and the Iraqi President handled that situation. I was equally impressed by the journalists around the shoe thrower- they reacted quickly and got the guy to the ground before the Secret Service got there.

Throwing a shoe in that culture is a strong sign of disrespect. Mr. Bush simply observed that the shoes appeared to be a size 10.

The journalist should have considered that it would be the Iraqi police who would take him into custody, not the American. We have due process. They still have firing squads and little patience. And the journalist seriously disrespected both the American and the Iraqi. Will we ever know what happens next?

The marshmallow defense

In reply to Funny Max!

Bush did exactly right. Instead of being indignant and offended (which I’m sure is what the thrower wanted), he was casual about it – the clip I saw had him saying it wasn’t any different than a heckler. He also signalled the secret service to stand down.

In short, he used the marshmellow defense – soft and inoffensive. If you take offense at the insult, you give meaning to the insulter. He basically said to the world, this guy means nothing.

James

Exactly right

In reply to The marshmallow defense

A great defense in the face of something like that and exactly the right tone. But one not everyone can do as effectively.

The timing is interesting. Weren’t they announcing the timeline to pull American troops out of Iraq? I can only assume that the guy doesn’t want us to go but that was sure an odd way to say, “Please don’t go!”

Not what I saw…

In reply to Exactly right

The translated text of what he said was something to the effect of “this is the goodbye kiss from the people of Iraq, you dog.” On the second throw it was something to the effect of “this is for all the widows and orphans killed by your war”. I’m sure the exact text is out there.

Truth is the guy knew it was the last chance to taunt Bush, and there were lots of cameras around. I’m sure he was hoping to get a reaction out of Bush that would make him look bad in front of Iraqi TV.

James

On insults – choosing to be offended or not

In reply to The marshmallow defense

[i]The Brahmana Samyutta in the Samyutta Nikaya tells the story of an angry man who insulted the Buddha. The Buddha simply asked the man if people ever visited him in his home. Surprised at the change of topic, the man answered yes. The Buddha then asked if he ever offered to feed his guests. When the man replied yes again, the Buddha asked what would happen if they refused to accept the food? Who would the food belong to then? The man said that, of course, it would still belong to him. The Buddha then calmly and, I imagine, kindly said, “In the same way, I do not accept your insults. They remain with you.”

Exactly…

In reply to The marshmallow defense

I totally agree…

And I thought his reaction time was outstanding!

The Iraqi wan’t bad either

In reply to Exactly…

He almost caught the second shoe.

James

I bet…

In reply to The Iraqi wan’t bad either

he is just as quick on his feet.

I guess Bush is kept on his toes in Iraq too. :p

The Marshmallow defense part two

In reply to The marshmallow defense

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081217/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_russian_warships

Russians try to stir things up by conducting joint exercises with Venezuela and visit Cuba for the first time since the cold war. Bush and company yawn. Putin and probably Chavez get pissed. The marshmallow defense works again.

James

Where was the Secret Service Agent (like in the movies)

In reply to Did you hear about the guy who threw a shoe at President Bush?

taking a shoe for the president? Should have been two agents flying sideways through the air, one for each shoe. The President had to duck. 😀

Secret Service

In reply to Where was the Secret Service Agent (like in the movies)

if you watch the video, they come out of the door behind him and on the right.

Evidently, the Iraqi security people didn’t grab the guy immediately. It almost looked like a reporter or something did from behind, then Iraqi security did.

And, it looked like the US Secret Service was kept in the back. I saw ( I think) 4 or 5 come out 5 seconds after the first shoe was thrown.

Scary though…they actually trusted Iraqi security to handle everything in front of the cameras.

Lets just…

In reply to Secret Service

see how quick Obama wants to withdraw US security/ armed forces from Iraq when it’s his head with a target on it. :p ;\

[i]see how quick Obama wants to withdraw US security/ armed forces[/i]

In reply to Lets just…

http://techrepublic.com.com/5208-6230-0.html?forumID=102&threadID=265594&messageID=2517082

…..it will be the mother of all flip-flops. (Keeping in-line with the puns of the discussion, of course.)

I stand by that prediction.

From what I saw on the news

In reply to [i]see how quick Obama wants to withdraw US security/ armed forces[/i]

Bush, when he was in Baghdad signed and angreement that had forces totally withdrawn by the “end of 2011”.

Thats 3 years away, but these things take time logistically. Look how long it took the British to leave Basra once they committed to it.

Frankly, even if he wanted to pull the troops out sooner, it might not be possible to do it much sooner, if its done in an orderly, phased manner.

BTW, in Canada, our conservative PM committed to pull out of Afghanistan by 2011, at least out of the combat role. Training and reconstruction roles (and the security for them) would likely continue after that.

James

It will be impossible now

In reply to From what I saw on the news

We can’t pull out. Bush’s people signed an agreement to go pull out over 3 years. I’m sure part of the agreement is training and (probably to-be-botched) construction deals.

Obama’s hands are tied now, because Bush’s administration negotiated a deal.

Do you really think

In reply to It will be impossible now

that just because they are ALLOWED to say, that Obama HAS to stay??????

To answer JD’s question….

In reply to It will be impossible now

Sure JCK, training and construction will continue past the three years, thats generally how these things work (see Yugoslavia, and even Vietnam).

Obama’s hands aren’t tied by what Bush has signed, he can do he chooses, when he is president. But tearing up agreements isn’t seen as a good thing to do in general, so he would have to have a valid reason to do so, from a political perspective.

Any withdrawl, now or 3 years from now, needs to be co-ordinated with the Iraqi government if they want to avoid chaos. So figure 3 months to plan it, and it can’t be all in one go. It might take 6 months to move all the troops out without straining the logistics of the air transport. Its not so much the people as the vehicles and materiel.

James

What we see here, James

In reply to It will be impossible now

Is jck trying to setup an ready-made excuse for why Obama will not stick to his campaign promises, and continue to try to find a way to blame everything on Bush.

Somehow, someway, it HAS to be Bush’s fault, right?

I would bet we don’t hear Democrats screaming about the “Illegal and immoral war” anymore.

What we see here?

In reply to It will be impossible now

What we see is what I stated, jd; The Bush Administration signed an agreement with the Iraqi government that will commit the United States to a timeline of 3 years to pull out. It is FACT, not partisan speel. So, stop with your fanatical spin and attempts at trying to stir things.

It really is simple: it is a political catch-22 that the Bush administration has set for Obama to take ownership of in January.

If Obama’s administration does not choose to stay in Iraq the 3 years that Bush has committed the United States to being there and the Iraqi government does not agree to an early exit, the United States is then seen as liars and untrustworthy by governments and will probably be spun by the radical elements in the Middle East as an even bigger “devil”.

If Obama’s administration does stay the 3 years, then sensationalist right-wingers like you will start with the “What happened to 16 months? See, he’s a liar.”

So, it’s really a no-win now. The Obama administration was not given the choice to set their own terms with the Iraqis. Bush’s administration took the liberty to decide what Obama’s administration would be committed to for about 35 months of their tenure.

Kind of ironic, since the Bush administration did not move quickly to set this timeline until the end of his tenure as President. Don’t you think?

And JamesRL, you’re right. Obama could very well go “We’re leaving early.”, but that would (without Iraqi government agreement) cause even more political and social angst than what has been bred in that region by the Bush administration’s operation of things in Iraq. Do you not agree that this wouldn’t be a prudent move?

Needless to say, it’s not going to make anything any easier for Obama’s administration. But, that’s pretty much what I would expect from any politicians.

From another forum

In reply to Where was the Secret Service Agent (like in the movies)

Questions for the Secret Service:

1. Shouldn’t you have jumped in front of that shoe?
2. Shouldn’t you have jumped in front of that second shoe?
(Second shoe = the one thrown after being removed from foot after first shoe was thrown)
3. Let’s say people had three feet. Would you have allowed a third shoe to fly unimpeded?
4. While the shoe was in the air, were you like, “Oh, its just a shoe.”
5. Same question about the second shoe.
6. Do you think this is funny, “Throw a shoe at me once, shame on–you. Throw a shoe–you throw a shoe, you can’t throw a shoe again.”
7. Is there not “protection training” for lunatics launching objects?
8. If not, do they tell you that if someone does throw (or shoot) something to be on the alert in case they want to repeat this behavior?
9. Where were you?

I would have done it myself

In reply to Did you hear about the guy who threw a shoe at President Bush?

But there was dirty work afoot and I was tied up.

Max, that’s frickin’ awful but I still laughed out loud.

I want to know…

In reply to Did you hear about the guy who threw a shoe at President Bush?

why it took the secret service so long to get out there, and why the camera didn’t show if they had their shoes on 🙂 🙂

Hahahaha

In reply to I want to know…

Nice one Tony. 😀

The shoe was a waste of time

In reply to Did you hear about the guy who threw a shoe at President Bush?

He should have just socked him one

Ooops

In reply to The shoe was a waste of time

beaten by a long toe. I forgot the Laugh In line.

It is all good

In reply to Ooops

perhaps Mr Zaidi’s weapons program was operating on a shoestring budget.

He should have thrown a clock

In reply to Did you hear about the guy who threw a shoe at President Bush?

As you know, “Time wounds all heals”

[b]Dawg[/b] ]:)

puny group of answers !

In reply to Did you hear about the guy who threw a shoe at President Bush?

at least I’m cracking up, don’t stop now…
uhhh, can we vote for the best ?

When puns are concerned

In reply to puny group of answers !

you are suppose to vote for the WORST… ;\

They always get the most groans…. 😀

I liked Jay Leno’s. . . . .

In reply to puny group of answers !

…..reference to a shoeicide bomber.

Two loafers in the hand

In reply to Did you hear about the guy who threw a shoe at President Bush?

missed two at the bush…

now we will see who has

In reply to Did you hear about the guy who threw a shoe at President Bush?

when the shoe is on the other foot.

No we won’t he threw them both.

he will never know what its like now.

he better be glad it wasnt.

In reply to Did you hear about the guy who threw a shoe at President Bush?

Richard Pryors, Momma had a boomerang Shoe.

Wide World of Sports Answer

In reply to Did you hear about the guy who threw a shoe at President Bush?

It was the “agony of defeat.”

I was thinking of the scene from Austin Powers where the guy whacks him with the shoe and he says, “Ow! That really hurt. Who the hell throws a shoe?”

Yeah, I thought that too

In reply to Wide World of Sports Answer

I pointed it out to a friend and said “Who the hell throws a shoe?” a la Mike Meyers, it’s the little lines he has that really makes the movies he’s in, not the big setups.

Try it yourself!

In reply to Did you hear about the guy who threw a shoe at President Bush?

http://www.sockandawe.com/

Nah

In reply to Try it yourself!

The only shoe I’d throw at Bush would need you to pull the pin first.

It would make an interesting spin on the Whack-a-mole game at carnivals though. You have a big, heavy shoe chained to the machine and have to whack Bush as his head pops up, you could also add other cabinet members to really get your fill.

*groan*

In reply to Did you hear about the guy who threw a shoe at President Bush?

After that string of puns, now I understand why this is such a vile insult in the mideast.

I’m struck by how EXCITED the entire Middle East is that a dude threw his SHOE at the President of the U.S.

At the very least, it illustrates the vast cultural difference between the Middle East and the West.

“He threw a SHOE at him?”

“Yes! A shoe!”

“A… shoe?!?”

“Uh huh! Uh huh! Allah Ahkbar, a filthy, dirty, smelly SHOE!”

“Hmnn… and then, he got beat up by security?”

“Yes, yes, by the puppet regime bodyguards of the infidel occupiers. It was a shame”.

“Maybe if he was wearing shoes, he would have been able to outrun them”…

“What? Wait… whose side are you on?!?”

They bring down the Twin Trade Towers, and they mob the streets dancing, they throw a shoe at President Bush, twice, and miss both times, and they mob the streets dancing…

I’ve got a great diversionary plan to keep the U.S. safe from terrorist attacks on domestic targets! We’ll just put various U.S. dignitaries in a dunk tank, and let them throw their shoes at the target.

easily amused….

What would be amusing

In reply to *groan*

is to see the treatment the dog would have gotten if that was still Saddam ruling the country. He would never have been heard from again, something the mindless rabble hasn’t considered.

Disengenuous

In reply to What would be amusing

To say that, and at the same time say that the US came to overthrow an evil dictator and bring democracy.

Saddam has been gone for 5 years now. The US intention was to bring a western style democracy.

James

that is the only reason

In reply to Disengenuous

he is still alive. Because it is a “western style democracy” where people can protest and speak out without being tortured and/or killed.

Mind you, attempted assault on a foreign leader goes well beyond a simple speaking out.

Nothing disingenuous about it.

jd

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