By now most people have seen the video footage of the Iraqi journalist Muntader al-Zaidi throwing his shoes at George W. Bush. The New York Times helps you put it in perspective:
The shoe-throwing incident in Baghdad punctuated Mr. Bush’s visit here–his fourth–in a deeply symbolic way, reflecting the conflicted views in Iraq of a man who toppled Saddam Hussein, ordered the occupation of the country and brought it freedoms unthinkable under Mr. Husseinâ┚¬Ã¢”ž¢s rule but at enormous costs.
From the Times‘ account, al-Zaidi yelled at Bush, “This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq!” This would not seem at all conflicted, would it?
Don’t you wish someone here had the humanity and the chutzpah to fling his footwear toward the presidential podium before an unindicted Dear Leader slithers away?
Dream on …