How do you feel about Muntadhar al-Zaidi?

I think (regardless of my feelings toward Bush), it is completely inappropriate for anyone to throw a shoe or anything else for that matter at another human. And in that culture, that is an incredibly disrespectful thing to do. It is like saying that person is less than dirt. I admit, I was highly impressed by Bush’s reaction time, and I did giggle the first time I saw it, but the more I see it, the stranger it is to me. where was the secret service? I can understand one shoe getting thrown, but he threw two? I know we all don’t like this man, but he shouldn’t be getting shoes thrown at him.

I think that we shouldn’t feel guilty because, I am sorry, but Bush is a complete asshole and I wish he would have been hit by the shoe. I don’t feel that it is being “un-American” to hate your president when he fucked America over!

Ya, no help here Mizuke, this guy is officially on my list of heroes. He deserves a medal of honor IMHO. People should have been throwing shoes at Bush for a long time.

The American invasion and occupation has been seen by many (not to say most) Iraqis as an extreme form of insult against their dignity. Remember that the American forces had no qualms about displaying the captured Iraqi president in a painfully humiliating light; no matter how Iraqis hated Sadaam, seeing him mocked in this way by an invading nation was a blow to their national pride.

Given this background, and that the mastermind of this national humiliation shows up on their soil and stages a little media event as a capstone to his “liberation of the Iraqi people”, how outrageous is it, really, that someone would show less than decorous respect?

Imagine that some other country overran the US to liberate us from the evil Bush, leaving us with hundreds of thousands of dead and a non-functional government. Then the great leader of our “liberators” comes to New York to gloat a bit. Shoes, anyone?

My feelings are pretty much the same as yours. I don’t like the idea of shoes being thrown at our President, but I will admit that a smile came to my face when I saw the news clip of al-Zaidi.

I believe that Bush was gravely wrong about going to war in Iraq, and that the Iraqis and the Americans have suffered severely because of it. I can understand how the Iraqis feel that our actions in their country are an insult to their dignity. I think al-Zaidi was replying in kind.

I will be so happy when January 20th comes around. I Iook forward to again having a President I can feel proud of.

I felt guilty for laughing, too. I can see why he threw them, but it seems to me that if an American journalist did a similar thing to an unpopular leader from another country, we’d be appalled. It’s just not very professional, you know?

Yeaaaaahhh, but come on, Aug… is our president really all that professional?

Check these bloopers out (1:03).

Ok, you have a point : )

@Aug, you are too kind.