Footloose | A Gumshoe’s Inquiry
December 16, 2008
Men’s footwear history in the making. (AP)
Steven Taffel is the owner of Leffot, a high-end men’s shoe boutique in Manhattan.
Watching the video of the Iraqi journalist Muntader al-Zaidi hurling his shoes at President Bush, I couldn’t help but ask myself, “What kind of shoes are those?” It all happened so fast that it was impossible to tell, but I’m fairly confident they’re not worth the $10 million a Saudi man reportedly offered. The shoes couldn’t have been very well balanced — I mean, the journalist did miss the target twice. I think I saw Velcro straps on one of them, which makes sense for easy removal (only loafers would have been easier). They also appeared to be semi-soft, which would have lessened the impact had he made a direct hit. Then I imagined the damage a pair of Alden cordovan brogues would have caused with their double leather soles, storm welting and approximately five pounds of horsehide, made in the U.S.A. Now that would have hurt.
The Moment 
of course it is interesting, particularly for a shoe monger, to consider the actual shoes them selves, but as symbols, they’d have to be an unusual shoe indeed to change their impact, and perhaps damage.
Heck, they didn’t even have to hit the president to make the impact intended. Of course, it would have meant a little more, but the insult is still the same regardless of the aim.
What a shame they not were the brogues- the added cost presumably would have added motivation.
Should have been a pair of stilettos.
Cheers,
thefictionist
Bush’s claim that the shoes were “size 10” was just one more indication of his status as the Ugliest of Americans.
W doesn’t even know that shoe sizes run differently in that part of the world. A US “10” would be equivalent to a 44-46 in the Middle East, Europe, and most of the rest of the world.
And I’ve only been overseas a scattering of times.
It wasn’t a shoe at all… it was a shoo!
maybe this guy was tired of taking his shoes off at the airport.
Personally I would have gone with steel-toed brogans.
yep,
I’d like 2 know, who designed those SHOES???? –
if u find out, let us know – x’s V.
lugs would have been good also….in the end he avoided the shoe just like all the other illegal,unconstitutional,immoral crimes he has committed…..no punishment would be enough!!!!
He sure can duck and weave, can’t he? But we knew that.
Now I’m looking forward to someone writing the story of “Shoes in American History.” Now we’ve got this new addition to the stories about Khrushchev pounding his on the table at the UN, and, of course, the clever “shoe bomber” who’s responsible for our having to wear slip-ons to the airport. There must be more… or there will be more…
Miss the target? He was dead-on on that first throw… You WISH you could throw shoes like that.
Sue, let’s not forget OJ Simpson and that infamous pair of Bruno Maglis!
Seriously, that first shot was a laser – that dude could flat-out throw and with a goon hanging off his back, too. If it wasn’t for W.’s finely-honed duck response….
Someone tell me where to get decent, American-made shoes, please! (And why did it take 8 years for Pres. Bush to learn to duck?)
I was impressed by Pres. Bush’s quick reflexes, especially given the glacial speed with which he responds to national emergencies.
@Jeff: Try Allen-Edmonds or Alden. Both are made in the USA