Aside from the joking-does it scare anyone that the Secret Service let the shoe throwing happen?

[underpants]

VIDEO here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7GaazqdvRI&eurl=http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=385&topic_id=249912&mesg_id=249912&feature=player_embedded

DU thread

I understand that it was "only" a shoe (though that is a huge measure of disrecpect in the Arab world)
and I understand that that room was probably about as tight a circumstance as you will find anywhere in the world (pre-screening, screenings at the door, etc.)
but it is frightening to my eye that the guys didn't come out of the door behind him or from his right for long enough for someone
to take off and throw TWO shoes

Just saying. I know they do a great job (and a stressful one) it just seems like it took too long.

[Pirate Smile]

1. I had the same reaction.

[ogneopasno]

2. I responded to the thread in GDP and I totally agree. When you think about how the SS reacted when

Reagan was shot, pulling him down and getting him out of the way, I'm really taken aback that no one pushed Bush to the floor. I don't care how anyone feels about Bush; it's the job of the SS to protect the president, and I didn't see anyone running to him when that guy threw the shoes.

[underpants]

23. There is video of that down thread. I am sure this will be highly scrutinized within the Service

they work on this a lot and this will become part of the curriculum I am sure.

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. Are you trying to raise them in my esteem?

It does seem odd, but all things considering, it was perfect because I think Bush was trying to make a point that Iraq was a huge success, and I think that shoe incident will forever contradict his version of history.

[alsame]

8. Michael Ware was on CNN a while ago and said this incident

will become iconic throughout the Arab world.

[The Backlash Cometh]

15. You know the ghost of Saddam Hussein was there.

Remember when Bush I and II intentionally ridiculed him by mispronouncing his name to something that meant sole of shoe?

[alsame]

17. No, I never heard about that. Do tell, please.

[The Backlash Cometh]

27. "Little boy who cleans out men's shoes,"

This is the closest reference I found. Probably note the best:

http://books.google.com/books?id=9kpgefWjV48C&pg=PA105&lpg=PA105&dq=Bush+intentionally+mispronounced+Saddam%27s+name+shoe&source=web&ots=BGoP1ENFKe&sig=J92ClC5WhU7jYoar-tamBfCU9wU&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result

[alsame]

31. Wow, thanks. I always wondered why they sometimes pronounced

Saddam incorrectly, but didn't know the background.

[Amonester]

26. They must be dancing in the streets...

Heck, I'm not even in the Arab world and I've been dancing and laughing in my living room since I saw that 'last throw' :rofl:

w's Legacy... True Justice Has Its Ways! Couldn't happen to a worse war criminal

In the Home of the Brave shoe thrower.

[The Backlash Cometh]

28. Might as well enjoy it as much as we can, because,

Bush will never really see a real trial over what he did.

[trof]

4. Reminds me of the shoes thrown at Saddam statues.

A huge insult in Iraq.
Sorry he missed.

[DearAbby]

Well it must have happened very quickly.

I wonder if they will require people to remove their shoes before entering press conferences.

[Warpy]

5. Not particularly

because it was hardly a lethal weapon. It would have wounded his ego had it connected, but not much else.

[katanalori]

36. well.....

remember the shoe bomber? What if there had been a bomb in the shoe? I was surprised that the Secret Service did not do more to protect Bush. NOT a Bush fan AT ALL (but I agree with original poster).

[Warpy]

39. There was a bomb in his shoe

if the dumb fuck had used a Bic instead of stinky matches, nobody would have caught on in time and that plane would have gone down.

[Guaranteed]

43. Or, how did they know what it was at all?

It was a projectile. Could've been a throwing knife or any number of things more deadly.

They really messed up pretty badly. Dude should not have gotten that second shot at him.

[auntsue]

6. sad - but he brought it on himself

this is what so much of the world thinks of USA now
Oh boy we need change !!!

[MrSlayer]

7. It was so fast no one could have stopped him.

He got off two shoes in 3 seconds. There was nothing that could have been done.

[Posteritatis]

20. And folks were on him before the second shoe left his hand (nt)

[ColbertWatcher]

24. And Bush's head moved down and to the right ... down and to the right ... n/t

[TomInTib]

9. The guy was really quick.

Shoe-throwing is not something they are trained to reflexively react to.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

10. It's a horrid insult in the Arab world,

and, thankfully, it's all Fuckface's "Victory Tour" will be remembered for.

That man - bless him and I hope he's all right - did us all such a service by putting into action what we all feel. Although I'd just as soon have lobbed a grenade at him, but this journalist used his shoes. Who screens for shoes?

The security people were on him pretty fast, though.

He made history, and, wonderfully, he diminished Fuckface in the eyes of the world - even more than his own actions already have.

[Schema Thing]

11. I thought they were slow getting into the line of fire, as it were

but the actual event happened very quickly.


And, otoh, they no doubt feel very confident about what is in the room, by the time a press conference is underway, due to all the screening beforehand.

[ogneopasno]

12. Here's a link to the youtube of the attempt on Reagan's life...the SS really move their shit here.

I think the contrast is interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDIVheB5kIM

[underpants]

21. They had the POTUS and the shooter down really fast

If I remember correctly it was actually a civilian that initially got Hickley down but the Secret Service pile on (to secure the situation) really really fast.

[arcadian]

13. How could they NOT let it happen.

Believe me if he had brandished a gun they would have taken him out. Wouldn't look good if the S.S. shot a journalist in front of the President of the U.S.

[underpants]

19. No the point isn't just stopping the guy, any guy, it is getting the POTUS down or out of the way

Seemed like it was a bit slow to me

[libnnc]

14. I thought it was strange

that the guy was able to throw the second one

I thought the SS would shove shitface outta the way

[malaise]

33. I imagine that everyone in there had been thoroughly

searched before entering the room, but they were slow.

[rzemanfl]

35. Do you think they like him any more than we do? eom

[Kahuna]

16. No. The thrower had no real weapons because he was thoroughly searched..

before he got anywhere close to the chimp.

[izquierdista]

18. The SS can't prevent everything

They didn't prevent von Stauffenberg from making an attempt either.

[Lars39]

22. Whose bright idea was if for the now lame duck president who caused the destruction of an

entire country to go to that country one last time? Just another example of Bush being expendable.

[TankLV]

25. In THIS instance - No. In the implications regarding protecting Obama - YES.

bush* is lucky it was only a shoe...

[havocmom]

37. Election night, when that mass of people demonstrated in front of the WH,

pictures/video of the crowd were taken - from INSIDE the WH grounds/lawn. Havocdad wondered aloud if the SS would be showing the pic and vids to DimSon as a way of showing him he had better be nice to his detail, for he has no friends outside the fence he would outside of for the rest of his life.

One wonders at the amazing patience of the SS in laying it on the line for the most destructive occupant of the WH EVER.

[underpants]

40. Thank you for posting that

That was what concerned me most.

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

29. It's been an amusing afternoon, but you have a point. I agree.

It seemed to take too long for the response from SS, I don't like that.

[SeattleGirl]

30. Same here.

The SS doesn't get to pick and choose what they will react to, and how quickly they will react.

Yeah, it was only shoes, but I do think they were a bit slow out of the gate.

[leftofthedial]

32. although a security lapse couldn't happen to a more deserving piece of crap,

it is mind boggling that the journalist had time to throw two shoes.

Any kind of actual weapon, and we'd have a repuke martyr on our hands. Plus unka dick for "president." It would take about 15 minutes to launch Operation Righteous Vengeance, going all shock and awe on Iran.

[alsame]

34. CNN just did a segment about this. Said the room had

already been searched and everyone had gone through metal detectors, so the SS knew there were no (real) weapons or explosives in the room. They slowed down the video and pointed out the primary SS guy, who was sitting in front. Bush waved him off after the first shoe. Said the slow reaction was probably due to the fact that they all knew no one there had any actual weapons.

[underpants]

38. Uh-huh

Thanks for posting that but that doesn't sound like it makes much sense

[merh]

41. It makes no sense, both shoes were thrown before the secret

service moved, the wave off was after the second shoe.

[Guaranteed]

44. That's a pretty shitty excuse.

"Oh, we're perfect so we already know he can't get hurt!"

No, I don't think that's the way it works. You stand in front of your President when projectiles are flying at him. Don't care what they are- they don't know that quickly anyway.

[JanMichael]

42. no. I don't think they are trained to see a shoe as a weapon

I think this was as total shock to them as well.

[underpants]

48. I think they see everything as a weapon. They never consider any environment "clean"

even one as clean as that one.

They are also trained not to be shocked-that slows response and puts you (anyone responding) at more of a disadvantage.

[JPZenger]

45. This will cause SS to tighten procedures - at just the right time

This incident will cause the Secret Service to tighten their procedures. There should have been agents standing to the right and left of Bush on the floor to deal with any problems with the audience and an agent on the stage ready to jump on top of Bush. That upgrading of security will come at just the right time - when we have a president who is worth protecting.

I had guessed that the Iraqis had said they were handling security and told the Secret Service to hang out in the back room. You can see many come through the door.

One person wrote -- See, even the Secret Service no longer cares about Bush.

[Guaranteed]

46. Yeah- a little wake-up call is a good thing.

Glad no one got hurt, but they looked a leeetle beet lacksadaisacal.

[underpants]

49. Yes this most certainly will

Like I said upthread this incident will become part of their training curriculum.

[spanone]

47. you think the ss would have smothered junior..dove on top of him....maybe they don't like him either

?

[petronius]

50. Sort of - but I suspect that there was a near-zero chance of any kind of

life-threatening act being carried out. It's pretty much impossible to prevent someone from throwing any object if you're going to let them carry the object in the same room as the target. The only thing they can do is prevent people from having lethal objects to throw...