one small shoe toss for man, one giant leap for democracy

As George W. Bush concluded his final trip to Iraq, he received a parting gift from a local journalist, Muntader al-Zaidi, who hurled not one, but both shoes at the outgoing American president, The first toss was accompanied by Mr. al-Zaidi shouting: "This is a gift from the Iraqis; this is the farewell kiss, you dog!" The second was described as a gift "from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq." Democracy-building mission accomplished? Evidently. Bush hailed the incident as a sign of the democratic progress made in Iraq claiming, "that’s what people do in a free society, draw attention to themselves" while the man's screams were heard in the background. Well, so much for being bid farewell as liberators...