Chucked Shoes - Sail To The Chief

A foul plan was afoot in Iraq today as an Iraqi Journalist hurled his shoes and an insult at President George W. Bush, causing the Commander In Chief to 'bob and weave' like a prize fighter. The President managed to dodge the podiatridic projectile, but not the insult, nor the foul odor.

Just after setting foot in Iraq earlier this morning, Bush side-stepped the issue on troop withdrawel, choosing to toe the line on the success of the surge. He then leaped into discussions on running a tighter command. He also skipped questions on his reason for jump starting soul searching meetings with arch rival leader Nuri al-Malikihis immediately.

After a short hike from the airport to the Iraqi leaders offices (which of course were a mere hop, skip and a jump away), the two leaders began their joint press conference, echoing Bush's earlier comments, while adding that "the time had come to heal."

The Iraqi Journalist, Muntazer al-Zaidi, then took matters into his own hand. Two size ten matters that is, or as Ed Sullivan would say, they were 'really big.'

Soles of shoes are considered the ultimate insult in Arab culture. After Saddam Hussein's statue was toppled in Baghdad in April 2003, many onlookers beat the statue's face with their soles.

Keeping in-step with proper protocol, some Iraqi journalists stood up to apologize to Bush. The President replied: "Thanks for apologizing on behalf of the Iraqi people." Playing down the incident, the president later added: "I don't know what the guy's cause is, but I didn't feel the least bit threatened by it."

The incident may very well sum up the George W. Bush presidency in one sentence:

"If the shoe fits ... wear it!"