In Arab culture, showing the sole of your shoe is a serious insult. So throwing your shoes -- one after the other -- at someone is sort of like taking your middle finger and sticking it in their eye. This was the welcome Bush got when he held his first press conference for Iraqi journalists. Say this for Bush: The guy can duck. Even so, First Read notes that this may have legacy consequences. Bush's visit to Iraq was his final trip abroad before leaving office and the defining image will be an American president being pelted with footwear.
