thanks to a 5 p.m. large mug of starbucks christmas blend, i was up very, very late last night painting and composing balderdash definitions and generally enjoying hanging out with the muses in my cozy little atelier (the building in the garden formerly known as the writing house--doing lots more than writing there, so it needed an expanded name). anyway, i saw this news come in and i laughed and laughed and laughed:
i have to admit that i am quite impressed with bush's reflexes. he dodges that first shoe pretty well, almost as if he's used to having shoes thrown at him. a thought which makes me look upon laura with new eyes...
CNN is saying that from a iraqi cultural standpoint, it's extremely rude to throw your shoes. i wonder if that's true or if your shoes are just the most throwable object you have on you at any given time. i mean, who would want to throw their wallet or keys? and it would be rather difficult to surreptitiously remove your pants and throw them, whereas shoes, no problem.
i find myself feeling a bit sorry for bush here in the waning hours of his presidency. he has brought new meaning to the words "lame duck." i never thought i'd ever feel sorry for him, but he looks old, frazzled and, dare i read it in, a bit sheepish about the whole thing (not to mix my animal metaphors). or perhaps he's just bewildered that it could have all gone so stunningly badly. i hope he realizes that it's largely his fault. although his recent expressions of contrition about the bad intelligence leading to the iraq war (strangely no references to the role of his warmongering VP and cabinet) and how he hadn't gone into the presidency wishing for a challenge like sept. 11 would lead one to believe he has at least a dim awareness of how badly it's gone, i wouldn't mind if he seemed a little more contrite. the one thing that can be said for the man is that he succeeded brilliantly at failure.
3 comments:
I have to agree with you...shoes just seem the most convenient item you could throw that has enough heft to them to make it across the room.
And you're the second buddy whose suggested that this isn't the first time Bush has dodged a shoe. All I can say is that if he's that tired, mebbe he can take off early and let Obama get started. You know, like when you leave early on a Friday afternoon when the boss is out...
As debi suggested on my blog, it's really not proper to throw shoes at any world leader, but I was so taken with my vision of a big Iraqi guy throwing a pair of stilletto heels.
Actually, it is very rude to show someone the sole of your shoe in Arab culture. It is, of course, infinitely more rude to throw the shoe at them. I lived in Egypt three years and I got so used to not exposing the sole of my shoes to a person of higher status (when I cross my legs for instance) that seven years after I came home, I still think about who is sitting next to me if I cross my legs.
So I hate to say it, but CNN got that one right.
TB--i keep picturing the stilettos and still get a kick out of it. and if he'd been a more leader-like world leader, i could have more respect.
glenn--i'd heard that of thailand, but have to admit it seemed like one of those CNN struggling-for-an-interpretation-in-the-face-of-none kind of things...ok, fair enough tho', makes it even more disrespectful. go iraqi journalist guy (whose name i wish i knew..)
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