By now, everyone has no doubt seen that video of a disgruntled Iraqi journalist hurling his shoes at President Bush in a gesture of contempt. Naturally, the Internet was immediately awash in parodies, mash-ups, and remixes of said video. Here’s my favorite response thus far:

(I moved it below the fold as a favor to anyone with a slow-loading connection…)

This one actually caused me to laugh out loud, as the kids like to say. I’ve got little respect for George W, but I’ll happily grant him this: the man’s got some killer reflexes. Me, I’d probably have just stood there looking dumbfounded as the first incoming Florsheim spiraled inexorably toward my nose, and then taken the second one as well while I tried to figure out what had just happened and why my face suddenly hurt.

On a darker note, I’m now hearing that the Iraqi shoe-thrower was beaten after being taken into custody following the incident. As far as I know, these stories are unconfirmed, and in fact I’m not even sure if the guy was in US or Iraqi custody. But given the policies of this president and his administration when it comes to detainees, the automatic assumption is that where there’s smoke, there’s fire. It sickens me that in only a few short years, our reputation around the world has mutated from noble GI Joes who share their chocolate bars with the local kids to swaggering bullies who might well pummel some guy for what amounts to a harmless prank. I’m not saying I believe Americans did beat the guy, but I do think a lot of people think it’s possible. And maybe they even think it’s likely. And the really troublesome thing is that many Americans probably couldn’t care less, either about some Iraqi getting beaten up or about what the rest of the world thinks of our tactics.
There was a time when people would’ve been shocked at the very idea of a prisoner being abused while in American hands. But not anymore. Just one more thing that the president-elect has to somehow attempt to fix… if he can…