Frankly, as far as countries go, the US and POTUS Bush should have been immensely pleased to see how much of a "democracy" (vis a vis free expression, free speech and free thoughts) the country of Iraq had become.

Even PM Maliki should have been pleased, for the simple fact that now they could see the fruits of all those months and months of fighting and dying in their country, have finally come to provide a platform in which a regular Iraqi citizen could stand up in a press Conference, and "freely speak his mind"...and not be executed the next day.

IMAGINE if that had happened during the regime of Saddam Hussein!

Not only would the journalist have been executed, but his entire family would have also been jailed or executed along with him.

Iraq has come a long way and Pres Bush should have been pleased as punch at seeing that fine example of "a democratic citizenship freedom of speech and expression" on his last farewell Press Conference!!

Finally, Bush should have felt quite "at home", since all that kind of shit happens on a daily basis all around the US, and all leaders here in the US are pretty much used to it as well as being inured to it (meaning that they don't let it bother them one bit)...and what with the concept of "public demonstrations", and "public marches" to oppose or demonstrate about this or that that is happening in a country, Bush should have instantly realized that all of this Iraqi military occupation and warring in Iraq was finally producing "good results" in that example of that poor journalist's "public demonstration of opposition" to pres Bush and the war effort!!!

What they don't realize is that if "throwing shoes" at offenders could become the "norm", as opposed to "suicide bombers and suicide bombing" attempting to be the norm during these last few years there in Iraq, Iraq would have made an immense "leap of faith" in terms of teaching ordinary civilians "how to express offense and opposition" by simply " throwing shoes" in public at any cardboard image of any one they are opposed to!!

THROWING SHOES is good!

SUICIDE BOMBERS is bad!!

Man Up, PM Maliki and POTUS BUSH!

Stand up for the very principles that you are constantly talking about.

Democracy in Iraq is about "throwing shoes at offenders, freely speaking your mind in public, and demonstrating to the world that you have the guts to insult and embarass" national leaders without haveing to get "executed on the spot", as was done during the Saddam Hussein regime.

Why, oh why is it that when "great moments" appear in our daily history, that those self-anointed leaders cannot see or understand "those great moments in history"?

President Bush should privately call PM Maliki and request that the journalist be freed and his family given some money, since that journalist proved without a doubt that the democratic concepts of free speech and freedom of expression are beginning to take hold and take root within that great country of Iraq.

Yes... the military occupation in IRAQ has NOT BEEN IN VAIN!!!

Man up, PM Maliki and Pres. Bush!