James Taranto considers the Iraqi shoe-throwing episode in its proper context by comparing it to a similar exhibition offered by a flea-bittenhippie student in 2005 at a debate between Howard Dean and Richard Perle at Oregon’s Pacific University. Engaging in a bit of comparative anthropological analysis, Taranto notes the similarities in rich intellectual penetration, manly eloquence, and (of course) athleticism in these two examples of high political expression and concludes that American university culture is, essentially, of a piece with this deepest expression of Arab political culture.
Meanwhile, Jonah posts a link to the response his readers think Bush ought to have had to the episode. Who throws a shoe, indeed?!
Wow, I thought it would go this way or play up the idea that the shoe thrower was paid off by someone outside agitators. The author of the piece suggests that he knows the iraqi plight better than the iraqis? Interesting. I am glad that this happended for many reasons. The major one is that it somehow humanized the president. It would do us good to stop viewing the holder as the office as an idea incarnate and see him as a mortal man no more or less than any one of us. Talking to many proles about the incedent they were amused and one remarked, "there is not a damn person in this country who wishes they could not do the same thing." I think the writer's column says more about the "intellectual impovershment" of this contry than Iraq. Mabye what he really means is absence of group think, right left paradigm. If the act showed one thing it is that Americans can't claim a monoploly on intestinal fortitude. As the prole I talked to mentioned he would like to do the same thing, but gives no reason as to why he has not yet the distant look on his face suggests that he would not dare. BTW, anyone want to speculate on the riots in Greece? I guess eastern europe is intellectual impovershed as well, after all its only the birthplace of democracy so its people probably don't understand the nuances in the modern real world.
Yeah Jonah!!!
That was my exact same reaction to this shoe-throwing incident.
How childish and embarrassing for the Arabs! Instead of arresting and imprisoning this guy, they should just give him a spank and sent him to bed. That’s what we usually do with babies who throw things in a tantrum.
Another act of Arab terrorism. No wonder the liberals here are cheering about it.
He threw a shoe at a man. Don't ever forget that is all this guy did, and now they will charge him with attempted murder. LOL, yay police state yay tyranny yay imperialism yay domestic misery. boo logic, boo thinking, yay believing what you are told to believe.
I bet that shoe was filled with plastic explosive. They don't call them people shoe bombers for nothing.
Julie, as usual, I'm amazed by one of your posts.
It's amusing to see defenders of (and voters for) the current US administration - those whose examples of statesmanship and "high political expression" include flipping the bird to the press, telling their Senate colleagues to "go f*** yourself", and responding to perfectly reasonable queries with "So?" and "So what?" just for starters - deride this token act of defiance and disgust.
None of the articles that I've seen about the shoe thrown at Perle indicate that the thrower was either a student or flea-bitten, by the way - not even neocon Taranto's rant...err..."anthropological analysis." I suppose minds that see so many neocons as manly must see those who take issue with them as dirty hippies.
It's also funny that in talking about this latest incident of late 2008, Taranto (and you) note the ungentlemanly behavior aimed at Perle at a conference in early 2005, in which he was also confronted with his ludicrous prediction of 2003 that there would be "a grand square in Baghdad named for President Bush" within a year. Yet, Perle persisted:
"'I'd be a fool not to recognize that it did not happen on the schedule I had in mind,' Perle said, adding that he did not deny that the administration had made mistakes in Iraq.
But, Perle added, 'I will be surprised, yet again, if we do not see a square in Baghdad named after this president.' He did not specify a time."
So, is Perle a fool YET? The Iraqi shoe-thrower is more likely to have a square named after him. Suffice it to say that it looks like the only monument to Bush in Baghdad - at least those not on the campus of the grotesquely over-budget American embassy there - is likely to be a statue of Bush ducking a shoe.
And referring to Ultimate Chickenhawk Lucianne Goldberg's Son (he'd go to war, honest he would, but he's got a small child at home! haha) immediately after a reference to "rich intellectual penetration, manly eloquence, and athleticism", who himself referred to a gay icon in a frilly shirt (Austin Powers)?? - well, that's a good laugh, to say the least...
Bush will have a square named after him in Baghdad, but a sewage treatment plant in San Fran named after him in the United States, one that I look forward to making some contributions. Of course there will be several military cemeteries named after him as well. Not to mention the Bush presidential library at SMU (insert your own bitter joke here, it is almost too easy to do).