Iraqi Gives Bush the Boot

Watch here as an Iraqi reporter surprises President Bush by throwing both his shoes at him at a press conference during his "Goodbye, it's been great" final visit to Iraq. After almost eight years in office, an American President becomes good at ducking, as you will see.



The shoe toss is puzzling to Americans primarily because it is so impractical. How can you make a getaway without your shoes? Even if you expect to get hauled off, why add the indignity of leaving in your stocking feet? And as much as you dislike the President, is getting a whack at him really worth a pair of Florsheims? Perhaps Payless reduces the cost of this stunt.

So what is it with the shoes? We saw the same thing when Saddam fell from power. People would take off a shoe and hit Saddam's face on a poster with it. It is symbolic of having the person under your foot in conquest. It's a disgrace. You see this expressed in the Bible. The Apostle Paul says of Jesus, "he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet" (I Cor. 15:25, alluding to Psalm 110:1). When John says he is not worthy to untie the Lord's sandals, which would involve lowering himself to the level of Jesus' feet, he is abasing himself. It is quite a statement. Then to top it all off, when Jesus takes the role of a household slave and lowers himself to bath the disciples' feet, it is an infinitely greater humiliation because, as the Lord of glory, he has further to descend.