His name is Muntazer al-Zaidi and he’s the toast of the Middle East and many other parts of the world.
Never before has anyone achieved so much acclaim for throwing a pair of shoes. He threw them at President Bush, of course, an act that he's somewhat embarrassed about, as I learned during an exclusive telephone interview.
Me: "Muntazer, thank you for taking my call."
Muntazer: "I did not know I could take calls. How much are you paying the prison warden?"
Me: "I'm giving him a pair of shoes."
Muntazer: "You can send them to me. I will deliver them for you."
Me: "No, thanks. I saw your last delivery."
Muntazer: "You are right, my friend. It was a bad delivery. A very bad delivery. I'm embarrassed about it."
Me: "People say you are a hero. Do you consider yourself a hero?”
Muntazer: "No, I am not a hero. I missed the target. It was a bad delivery. I should have thrown harder and lower. I did not practice enough."
Me: "You mean you practiced for this?"
Muntazer: "Of course I practiced. I spent many hours at the shoeing range."
Me: "Shoeing range? You mean there's a special place where you can practice throwing shoes?"
Muntazer: "Yes, we have many shoeing ranges here. They provide us with hundreds of shoes, as well as cardboard cutouts of President Bush."
Continue reading "An exclusive interview with the shoe thrower" »
milestone that had just been reached: 4,000 American soldiers killed in Iraq. Then Sanchez absolutely stunned me. He asked about the Iraqi dead. I fell off the couch.