No one could have anticipated:
Muntader al-Zaidi, the now-infamous shoe-hurling Iraqi journalist, has reportedly been “beaten in custody,” according to the BBC. Al-Zaidi’s brother reports that the journalist is suffering from a broken hand, broken ribs, and internal bleeding. Yesterday, TV al-Sharqiya in Iraq reported that the al-Zaidi had “signs of tortures on his thighs.” Meanwhile, thousands of Iraqis have taken to streets on Tuesday for second day to demand al-Zaidi’s release.
What's this about signs of Democracy, President Bush?
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Since President Bush himself is making light of the Iraq shoe incident, why shouldn’t the rest of us?
Where was the Secret Service? Salon.com’s War Room blog reports that because the press is pre-screened, security isn’t quite as vigilant for a press conference as, say, when the President is mingling with the hoi polloi. Whew.
Thank you, Salon. That question was one many of us were asking, and we sure didn’t get an answer from the MSM, who seemed more interested in downplaying the incident--no doubt taking orders from the White House on this one.
I love it when the media goes into damage control mode. “Just act like nothing’s wrong,” I can hear them say. How else to explain the President’s incredibly lame “that’s what people do in a free society” comment after the incident? Like that happens all the time here in America?
Hey, let’s ALL throw shoes at the president! Yeah, try it, I dare you. Just watch and see what happens.
And what's with all of the "if he'd thrown a shoe at Saddam he'd be dead" BS? We're all so sure this reporter is alive and well and all is forgiven right now? Last I heard, he was still in custody. This is incredibly lazy and dishonest of the media. Come on, get serious.
Watching our fawning media report on the President’s “size 10” quip like it was the most courageous thing a Commander in Chief had done since George Washington crossed the Delaware is surreal, to say the least.
MSNBC’s Contessa Brewer and the NBC reporter assigned to cover the story gushed how “back in Saddam’s day, that reporter would have received the death penalty.” Um, excuse me, when was the last time anyone in America threw a shoe at the President and lived to tell about it? Hello? And has anyone bothered to mention to either of you two idiots that the incident has sparked demonstrations of support across the Arab world?
Of course the White House wishes to act like this was No Big Deal. Heaven help us if anyone should point out the obvious: the country we “liberated” hates us for it. Ouch.
Let’s face it: the Iraq War has been President Bush’s favorite PR backdrop since he posed with a platter of fake turkey and fixin's at his "unannounced visit" with the troops in 2003. "Unannounced" being the operative word -- the Iraqis would have hurled more than old shoes at him if they'd known he was coming back then.
Bush's lame attempt to salvage something resembling a positive legacy on Iraq backfired big-time. In the meantime, the shoe incident has me in mind of a fabulous Willie Nelson moment from that most cynical of political flicks, “Wag The Dog.” Someone needs to release that old song in honor of Muthathar al Zaidi, no doubt having electrodes applied to his genitals as we speak.
Recently I was accused of being overly “angry.” Like the bumper sticker says, if you are’t pissed off, you haven’t been paying attention.
