Anyone else disturbed by the lack of urgency from Secret Service toward shoe thrower?

[TeamJordan23]

I could care less about Bush, but I'm looking toward the future with Obama. This guy threw a shoe and the Secret Service just stood still and it was only after the man threw another that people started reacting.

I would think the Secret Service would have done something immediately after the first one was thrown. Hopefully they are not as complacent with the President-Elect.

[Botany]

1. Would you take a shoe for him?

:rofl:

[graywarrior]

5. ..

:rofl:

[LiberalFighter]

6. Yep! You never know what the shoe might be loaded with.

Scorpion? Anthrax? Pretzels?

[Bucky]

29. Nothing with a sole can hurt Bush

He signed a very explicit contract in blood back in '93. Satan don't reneg.

[Truth2Tell]

54. Maybe they were waiting for the other shoe to drop?

:shrug:

[Marrah_G]

63. ..........

:rofl:

[LiberalFighter]

2. Considering they weren't on US soil they were better off staying close to the idiot.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

3. Now what if the shoe thrower had some of that special plastic

in the heel like the dude on the aeroplane? This could get ugly folks. I'll need to consult the flying spaghetti monster on this one.

[zonmoy]

4. Figure its a staged event and the shoe thrower is a paid bushco employee.

[Bucky]

31. Oh, God, please don't start that shit

:eyes:

[Unsane]

7. Obama's detail actually LIKE him.

[Danger Mouse]

8. Maybe they weren't so worried about thrown shoes...

but if Random Task were involved, you can bet they would've been on it like Bush on a mountain of coke.

[northernlights]

9. maybe the secret service people

were silently grateful. Hoping a shoe might make contact. Or prepared to take a shoe for *. Or maybe they were just stunned. They're trained to deal with bullets and grenades, not shoe hurling. So who knows?

On the other hand, * has consistently rewarded cronyism, not competence. So maybe he got the "heck of a job brownie" secret service he deserved.

[CTyankee]

15. There ya go! Proof that "the government doesn't work"? n/t/

[ORDagnabbit]

10. Medal of Freedom for that guy

[Seen the light]

11. They were fucking shoes

Not a security threat.

[pipi_k]

66. wha...???????

People wear special shoes for that?



damn. I just usually wear my socks.

:o

[uponit7771]

12. The shoe could've had a bomb in it, I wouldn't want THOSE SS folk guarding me

[Shakespeare]

13. Yeah, I had a "holy shit" moment when I watched the video just now.

I do have to give Bush props for his reflexes, though--if he hadn't ducked, that first shoe would've nailed him dead in the face. :rofl:

[Milspec]

24. double post

[Milspec]

26. He was quick, I would have taken it in the face

sorry to say, my reflexes have never been that good.

[Adsos Letter]

41. He's used to ducking... just look at how he handles questions at press conferences...

[Cha]

42. bush has had a lot of practice

ducking the issues.

[Erin Elizabeth]

74. I get the distinct sense he's ducked a lot of shit flying at him

in his life. Wonder if Laura's a thrower?

[bitchkitty]

14. Since he threw them one after the other,

your concern is unjustified.

It was a SHOE. Not a bomb. Not even a rotten tomato, more's the pity.

[mucifer]

16. I think the shoes can get thru the metal detectors.

Were you expecting a shoeless press conference?

[genna]

17. Yes. I was horrified when I saw that projectile so close to Bush's face.

I sincerely don't want physical harm to come to push. I don't hate the man.


I want the Secret Service to protect the U.S. President. I don't want someone to think that they have the ability to hurt him because that shoe came so close to hitting him.


I say it is too worrisome that the man was able to get the shoe up in the air in the first place. Even in dissimiliar cultures that was more than showing someone how displeased you are, that was criminal action.


I've read a few threads that say yeah or whatever, but I don't think anyone who cares about the safety of Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, or Barack Obama should think this incident was okay.

[mucifer]

19. how could they stop someone from taking off his shoe?

[Shakespeare]

21. It's not that; it's that he was able to fling a SECOND shoe before anybody budged.

That's a tad disturbing...

[Hansel]

22. I'll 2nd that.

That was definitely a WTF moment. Are they that poorly trained or is it that they just don't care?

[DangerousRhythm]

68. That's what made me stop and think.

I mean, the first shoe... okay, that was a surprise, but I'd think any well-trained person might spot it and shut down whatever's happening fairly immediately. The second shoe? That was just sloppy, IMO. Detaching myself from who nearly got a shoe in the face, I really didn't think they were on the guy fast enough, despite whatever my personal feelings are on the matter. I imagine them to be quicker and more... on the ball. Perhaps I'm just expecting too much though. O_O

[IndianaGreen]

23. Feeling compassion for Bush is akin to feeling compassion for Hitler

Bush is the first mass murderer of the 21st century!

[TeamJordan23]

35. Its not about Bush; its about the security team that is going to be guarding Obama. nm

[IndianaGreen]

38. Is Obama going to murder thousands and displace millions of people?

Surely a shoe is not considered a weapon.

[TankLV]

48. ONLY on THAT one regard can I have a worry...only in regards to OBAMA...

[alwysdrunk]

27. Anyone would be, I thought

But I get called a freeper for saying the US President should be attacked in public. I can't believe how many people are acting like this is OK, or justified just because it was Bush.

[izquierdista]

30. I DO hate the man

And when he goes to a foreign land, he can bask in the adulation he so richly deserves.

Don't be so sure you know what is or is not "criminal action" in a foreign land.

And no, I don't worry about the safety of Carter, Clinton or Obama, as they have not given cause for the shoes to come off in the first place.

[wmbrew0206]

49. As far as Clinton and Carter

I'm sure there are some people in Iran and in Sudan who would disagree with you.

[TankLV]

47. Yeah I was horrified too

that he missed not once, but TWICE!

Sorry, but bushis* the WAR CRIMINAL is in the "GREEN ZONE" of the "GREEN ZONE" - the mother of all "Green Zones" - and all those present were probably screened thoroughly. I bet even the MILITARY aren't allowed to carry guns around him for fear THEY would shoot the motherfucker!

That's what happens when you COMMIT WAR CRIMES!

The good news is he won't be able to travel ANYWHERE in his "retirement" now...

[DJ13]

18. A sole thrown at a man with no soul wont be dangerous

[Ichingcarpenter]

20. Bush got no soul and is still a heel

Al Bundy has now been put on the terrorist list.




All press conferences from now on will be shoeless.

[question everything]

25. Agree. These were my thoughts when I saw the tape

How did this guy manage to get so close to Bush? What if he had a gun instead of a shoe?

And I agree with you that it is not about Bush but about the Secret Service.

[Bucky]

32. They screen for guns, Metal detectors are pretty good at that sort of thing.

But shoes are something everyone wears.

[pipi_k]

67. Maybe they'll have to start

making people leave their shoes outside and handing out those terrycloth slipper sock things they give hospital patients.


What's the worst that can happen there...some guy uses one like a big rubber band slingshot off his index finger and his target gets a face rash from the non-slip sole...


:7

[jberryhill]

28. They know what they are doing

Someone causing a commotion could easily be an intentional distraction designed to take their attention away from an actual assassin.

I wouldn't second-guess the Secret Service.

Some guy throws a shoe - the whole SS detail goes after him - leaving their subject unguarded. Ummmmm... no.

[Guaranteed]

39. Yeah, but there needs to be a couple of them whose job it is

to get in front of the President the second any projectile flies at him.

There was a full two seconds there with no one doing a damned thing.

[jberryhill]

43. Good point

The fact that the guy managed to get off a second throw is pretty shocking.

I'm guessing that because security to get in the room was as tight as it gets, that there was a reduced level of concern about what might happen *in* the room.

[Guaranteed]

44. Agreed.

But I just hope they don't relax like that for Obama. They need to expect that someone is going to try something eventually, and act like it.

[qwlauren35]

52. I think you've got it. Everyone in there was "vetted".

Sadly, the shoe thrower is out of a job. No person of any world standing would tolerate the man in a press conference ever again.

I hope it was worth it.

[KansDem]

33. I thought I saw one pull out a Remington model 870 shoegun...

...but I could be wrong.

[lib2DaBone]

34. The only thing better would have been a direct hit in the kisser....

..then Faux News could show the slow motion replay over... and over..... and over.....

[ogneopasno]

36. I totally agree. I'm frankly surprised the shoe-thrower didn't get his head blown off, or at least

didn't get beaten down right then and there. Where the hell was the secret service?

ETA: I mean, I know you can't just open fire in a room full of people like that. But when you think of how quick the SS reacted in the Reagan shooting, and no one jumped up to protect the president in this instance, well, it makes me wonder.

[Sheltiemama]

50. It made me think of Reagan, too.

One group of SS men were literally on top of Hinckley, and another group pushed Reagan into his car. I'm surprised the SS didn't immediately surround Bush, too.

[mwei924]

37. A shoe would've less harmful to Bush than eating a preztel.

[judasdisney]

40. Removal of protocol similar to 9/11 (with My Pet Goat)

and similar to 11/22/63

L. Fletcher Prouty would say that's evidence of something.

[RamboLiberal]

45. After I had a good laugh at the incident - I did get nervous

that the Secret Service was so slow in reacting. I want them at the top of their game in protecting Obama. And with his remaining days left I'd rather nothing happen to Bush to make him a martyr.

BTW, it was reported that Bush lead agent was prepared to hustle him from the room right after the shoes, but Bush waved him off.

[BuyingThyme]

46. That whole scene is disturbing.

It's like they were meeting in somebody's garage.

[JNelson6563]

51. Ok, lemme think about it.....

Um, no.

Julie--who believes shoes don't kill people, people kill people

[phleshdef]

53. Actually, yea and I am disturbed by people who dismiss this.

I can't stand Bush but I don't want to see ANY president of the US get assasinated. Political assasination is all ready a dark enough stain on our past. That guy could have gotten away with a lot more if he had intended to. I think the secret service appeared very caught off guard.

[thewiseguy]

60. Get assasinated by shoes?

[Skittles]

55. maybe they despise him as much as the rest of us do

[mopinko]

56. they were out having a smoke.

or so it appeared. they all came pouring in through the door behind him.
i did find it disturbing. and maliki (SP?) didn't seem fazed at all. didn't even flinch.

passing strange.

[bertman]

57. Where the hell was Richard Reid when we needed him? Oh right, he's in the slammer

for trying to light up his footwear in mid-flight.

As far as the SS protecting Bush, you can rest assured they had already searched every person very carefully for hidden weaponry before they were allowed into the area. Think about it. The guy reaches down and slips off a shoe, then the other shoe, then stands and fires the first Nike missile, which goes astray. Then he launches then next Nike which again misses its target. By then the security service guys are grappling with him and arresting the other dangerous individuals who have the audacity to call the hurler "courageous".

Personally, for braining an unpopular speaker, I prefer New Balance. They are more aerodynamic and less likely to wobble in flight. And if accurately placed they leave a nasty tread imprint on the forehead of the victim.

What really would have been bad is if Odd Job had sneaked into the audience.

[live love laugh]

58. No. nt

[BigBearJohn]

59. Bush missed his chance to improve his ratings. Had he caught the shoe and lobbed it back at the guy,

his popularity might have improved.

[Laelth]

61. Not me. n/t

The United States is a LIBERAL Country.

:dem:

-Laelth

[Laura PourMeADrink]

62. When I saw those guys coming threw the back door - I pictured them

back there eating donuts

[Life Long Dem]

64. This guy was more interested in taking this photo.

[pipi_k]

65. I dunno...maybe after eight years...

they're thoroughly sick of the man and they no longer give a rat's ass what gets thrown at him.


Yeah, OK...no excuse....


hmmmmm....thinking.....



Second explanation...

Maybe the Secret Service thought it was belated flowers the Iraqi people were supposed to throw after being "liberated"

:sarcasm:

[raccoon]

69. Also, what were they thinking about on 9/11? Shouldn't they have whisked

Bush away from that school? For all they knew, somebody could have been planning to attack the school.

That's one thing I've always wondered about....

[Jennicut]

70. They were slow to react because it was a SHOE.

[bertman]

71. They weren't slow to react. Somebody grabbed the guy as soon as the second shoe bounced

off the wall behind Bush. The dude was practicing rapid-fire shoe releases and did a great job of getting two decent throws in.

I can't fault the SS on this. The only way they could prevent something like this is to have every audience member within hurling range of the Prez sandwiched between two SS men.

It is a bit alarming though, because an impact-activated sole bomb might have ended Bush's foundering career as a comedian forever.

[Jennicut]

75. Well they did not overreact is what I meant. It was only a shoe for christsakes.

[Erin Elizabeth]

72. No worries.

Obama would have caught the shoe in mid-air, shined it, then thrown it right back at the guy for a three-pointer. Later he would have met with him to discuss the issues he has that caused him to throw the shoe in the first place.

[Erin Elizabeth]

73. In all seriousness, I watched that video dozens of times

and I'm struck by al Zaidi's reaction, too. With the first shoe, his facial expression doesn't even change. Then he sort of half-heartedly reaches out to try to catch the second shoe. That sort of....cracked me up.

And why does Bush seem to be smiling after he dodged the first shoe? Smiling isn't what I'd be doing.

But yeah, I was also struck by how little immediate reaction there was. Guy had time to reach down and re-load with a second shoe and throw THAT before anyone much got into action.

[eppur_se_muova]

76. Meh. Maybe they had other priorities.

Oh, wait, that was Cheney's excuse.

[AwakeAtLast]

77. I posted that question last night in another thread

There should have been no chance for a second throw no matter who is President.

[MadrasT]

78. YES that was my first reaction.

WTF? There could have been bombs in those shoes. Maybe the Secret Service doesn't care what happens to him anymore :shrug: but the lack of response made me think about putting on my tinfoil hat :tinfoilhat:.