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Highlands Today

Like Him Or Not, Bush Deserves Courtesy Of His Position

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 17, 2008

So everyone knows President George Bush's popularity these days is lower than any president in history, according to polls. Even fellow Republicans have little good to say about his presidency. It's clear that the vast majority of Americans believe he made a grievous mistake by going to war in Iraq. That said, Americans should not applaud when some Iraqi nut throws his shoes at Bush in a demonstration of disrespect.

Almost everyone has seen the video of Bush at a press conference in Iraq where an Iraqi TV journalist stood up, insulted Bush for the violence and troubles of Iraq, and then threw his shoes at him. Bush deftly dodged the shoes, and even made light of the situation afterward, saying he's heard plenty of objections from people wanting attention, even right here at home.

Throwing shoes at someone is a traditional way to show disrespect in the Arab world. We all recall the Iraqis crawling over Saddam Hussein statues after we liberated the country, slapping the symbols of repression with their shoes and sandals.

Bush made an interesting comment that in free countries people have a right to criticize the powers that be, and even make fools of themselves in the process. During Saddam's reign, the journalist would have been treated to an acid bath and his head would have been delivered to his family.

We hope that most Iraqis, even if they don't like Bush, understand that a show of disrespect like that is not amusing. And Americans should show that despite criticism of our president, we still believe he should be treated honorably.

Unfortunately, those sentiments are lost on the Arab world, where there are protests seeking the release of the shoe-thrower. We hope they hold him a little longer, and denounce the act as embarrassing to the people of Iraq and all civilized people.

That won't mean a lot, but our president still is our president, and he deserves common courtesy for a person in his position.

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