First lady Laura Bush said she was offended by the recent “assault” on her husband, who had two shoes thrown at him during a recent visit to Iraq. At the same time, however, she said the assault shows that Iraqis feel a lot freer than they did before.
“I know that if Saddam Hussein had been there the man wouldn’t have been released, and he probably would’ve been executed,” she said of the Iraqi journalist, who was arrested following the Dec. 14 incident and has been in custody since.
Laura Bush noted that President Bush is a “natural athlete” as demonstrated by his ability to dodge the shoes.
Bush, who appeared in an interview taped for “FOX News Sunday,” said she never thought she would personally have the power to spotlight her favorite issues until after Sept. 11, 2001, when she began discussing the plight of women in Afghanistan.
The first lady said she understood about her influence after her first address on women in Afghanistan, when she was walking by a cosmetics counter in a department store.
“They — and I think this really speaks for American women in general — had a real feeling for the women in Afghanistan. … The idea of a government that would forbid half of their population from being educated was so shocking,” the first lady said.
The first lady also lamented the reporting on Hurricane Katrina, which she described as “not factual.” Bush said the Coast Guard did a fantastic job pulling people off their roofs, and that a lot of people got the misimpression that 10,000 New Orleans residents died in the aftermath of the 2005 storm that flooded the city. An estimated 1,800 people died in the storm and the flood.
Mrs. Bush said that her husband’s “inner core and his belief in freedom, and that means not just freedom from tyranny, but freedom from disease and freedom from illiteracy” is the untold story of her husband’s presidency.
Bush said in a recent visit from incoming first lady Michelle Obama, the two discussed closet space, and the Obama girls got to decide which rooms they wanted.
“It was really very practical. It was about building a life there, building a home there for children. And I know that’s one of her first priorities, and it’s certainly the first priority I think of every first lady who’s moved into the White House,” she said.
Asked if she wanted to get anything off her chest, Bush said no, but then responded: “Do I think the press is fair? No, absolutely not, but you are, Chris, so thanks a lot,” she told “FOX News Sunday” host Chris Wallace.
(Source: Fox News)
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9 Responses
You can tell from the article, Mrs Bush is really proud of her husband how he was able to dodge those shoes. I checked out the video and have to say, Our President is really, really fast! I don’t think I’ve ever been more proud of him. I’m not sure I would have dodged them as well.
B”H they have such good Shalom bais
If a shoe would have been thrown at Saddam when he was in power, the home town of the shoe thrower would have been gassed.
Tschim lesholom mrs first lady and may you have a good life
Presidents as with all self respecting heads of state are well trained for these and similiar circumstances, as they are obvious targets for assualt both during and after their tenure.
Remember…President Bush represents all of us in the USA. A shoe tossed at him is a shoe tossed at us….perhaps we need to re evaluate what we are doing there and if they really want us there. Time to bring our men and women home from Iraq enough is enough.
#6- I’m sure (not sarcastic) you wouldn’t say that- if that did indeed happen- and Iraq was turned into a terrorist training ground and was used to launch attacks against yidden R”L.
A (non-Jewish) Marine Chaplain once said,
“It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us the freedom of the press… It is the soldier who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag.” We’ll still be defending all of our rights to speech, regardless of whether you like us for it or not.
This is a public relations battle because Bush was embarassed at a time Obama photos have been circulating showing Obama playing basketball and on the beach.
Mrs. Bush made an interesting comment about her husband being a natural athlete. What sport was he known to be an aficionado and participant in?
Also, while Bush is trying to make himself seem wonderful during the second worst presidency of all time, Bush s should not get credit for an automatic response that anyone would have be it a child throwing a toy or a journalist throwing a shoe.
Only about 22 more days to go.
#6, I would agree with you but only if you amped up your view. Not only should we have reevaluated going there a long time ago, it would not matter. We should not be there now. It is only in the interests of capitalists to still be there. There will not be a normal arab country. Our efforts there are futile. They dont know or want to know from Jeffersonian ideals or those of American founding fathers. If they do want to know, they move here, as they have been in droves.
Iraq was/is a personal vendetta between the Bushes and Saddam. Now it is a money making exploit and do not kid yourself that many are getting very wealthy from contracting jobs over there fixing up for profit what our tax dollars tear down.
Finally, I have personally spoken with many in the military of many ranks who say THIS battle in the Middle East has/is not being planned by military personnel, but rather political interests.