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I also had a concern about the apparent lack of protection around bush by the Secret Service. Salon offers a plausible explanation that absolves the bodyguards. There is less security surrounding the president during press conferences than at rallies because once reporters have gotten past several security checks they are deemed to be safe to stand closer to the president than rally participants.
Clip:
...Unless the security standards are looser in Iraq than they are in Washington (which seems hard to believe), by the time al-Zaidi was close enough to Bush throw anything at him, he'd already gone through a metal detector and had his bag and the contents of his pockets inspected. Since he didn't have anything that seemed too dangerous, the Service probably wrote him off as relatively harmless. Instead, they got a quick lesson in what a hostile press corps really is. And al-Zaidi, as the video shows, got dragged out of the room. Even if al-Zaidi's aim was better, Bush would probably have been more or less okay; if a rogue pretzel can't kill him, a shoe isn't going to.
Of course, given the way the Bush administration has reacted to threats in the past, what this probably all means is that future meetings with U.S. presidents will require removing your shoes and leaving them in the next room. (After all, you still can't go through airport security fully shod, years after the attempted shoe bomber's capture.) For now, though, he should be safe: Upon his return to the White House tonight, Bush is scheduled to speak at a Hanukah reception. Fortunately for the Secret Service, yarmulkes don't fly quite as far as shoes. Salon.com Politics | Why didn't the Secret Service take a shoe for Bush?
President Bush was visiting Iraq, and a dissenter threw both of his shoes right at Bush's head. He dodged both, smirking like an idiot the entire time, before the crazed man was subdued.
I know President Bush is not very liked, but this is sign of disrespect to one of our leaders. How would they like it if I went over there and through something at one of their leaders? I mean, I dislike Doherty a lot, but would never think of throwing something at him. I think Bush handled the situation with class.
I wonder what would have happened to this guy if he had thrown his shoes at Saddam?
Nothing. Saddam is dead.
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