A quick search of the MR archives reveals that I haven't gotten to talk about shoe throwing since Fatah politicians publicly argued over child murder. Via Carl you can read about the precise degree to which the act signals utter contempt here. A whole bunch of news agencies are reporting that the Arab world is overflowing with adulation for Zaidi but you should take that coverage with a spoonful of salt. It seems that our media outlets have become a wee bit overexcited about the incident...

While the mainstream media whines that everyone should just "move on" from the Blagojevich scandal, they continue to harp on any conservative who was involved with McCain-Palin campaign. Los Angeles Times writer Tina Susman took a shot at Joe Wurzelbacher on Monday and compared him to Iraqi journalist and part-time shoe thrower Muntather Zaidi... "In the few seconds it took Iraqi journalist Muntather Zaidi to wing a pair of shoes at President George Bush, the Middle East got its own version of Joe the Plumber. Just as Joe Wurzelbacher's gripes to Barack Obama during the U.S. presidential election catapulted him to fame, Zaidi's burst of rage toward Bush during a Baghdad news conference Sunday has made him a household name across the Middle East."

... and that's making their coverage a touch more colorful than it strictly ought to be.

And to think: "asking an American politician a question = assaulting a sitting US President" is only this morning's second dumbest equivalence from a self-styled liberal intellectual. A bastion of sublime profundity, that side of the political spectrum.

References:
* Unless It Helps Them Demonize Israel, The World Doesn't Really Seem To Care About Palestinians [MR]
* What 'shoe tossing' means in the Arab world [Israel Matzav]
* Arab shoe-tossing isn't a gesture of friendly affection [Boing Boing]
* Arabs across Mideast hail reporter who hurled shoes at Bush [Ha'aretz]
* LA Times Compares Shoe Hurler To Joe Wurzelbacher [Newsbusters]
* Outrageous!... WaPo Lifts Shoe Tosser Muntadar al-Zaidi To Hero Status [Gateway Pundit]
* Columbia Middle East Expert: You Know Who Saudi Wahhabists Remind Me Of? Methodists. [MR]

Previously:
* Global Outcry As Egyptian Troops Open Fire On Palestinian Crowd, Wound 60
* Turns Out That Released Terrorists Aren't Inclined To Stop Trying To Kill Israelis (Plus: The Totally Awesome Way That The Attack Ended)
* NYT: Fatah Terrorists Who Killed Two Israelis Are "Fatah Advocates"