As Long As It Is Just A Shoe?

 

Many were startled at what was in the local and international news yesterday. Being played over and over was the video of US president Bush being hurled with  shoe from an Iraqi journalist during a press conference in Baghdad. I could not believe what I saw. The US president being shoe-attacked in a press conference??? When asked about his reaction, President Bush said that it was possibly a "size ten" (referring to the shoe) and the journalist was just wanting some attention! 

No doubt the incident was shocking already, but I was more shocked by his reaction. Either he was very afraid to further draw the ire of the Iraqi, just callous about the event, or just wanted to brush off the situation and render it as nothing. In any case, it seems like a vapid reaction to a very strong incident. I wonder how the American people reacted to it? His wife, Laura Bush thought that her husband did not deserve the treatment but later said that it was proof of the free expression in Iraq. Thanks to the U.S! I, myself, believe that it has to be dealt with fully according to existing laws and processes.

In the first place, the Presidency is not just about the person behind it. The Presidency is an office which represents the whole country. Any act against the presidency is an act against the whole country. If we are to interpret what happened to President Bush, it is an attack against the US government and citizenry at most, and to him at least. To president Bush, it can be dealt with lightly, but in another sense, he has to give concern to its effect to the US government.

The effect of the "weak" response from a strong country can never be fully known but it definitely sets a precedent, and a bad one at that. Hopefully, its consequences are manageable, or better that it be regarded as something not worth repeating. Otherwise, all leaders, especially presidents, and all security personnel, should guard against similar actions not only from the press but from anyone who is in a position to throw a shoe, a pen, a chair, or anything they can grab. But hopefully, no explosives!