A piece of the true cross

I've been away from the intertubes for most of the last few days, so perhaps I'm the last person to hear about this inspiring business success story.

Although his assertion has been impossible to verify — cobblers from Lebanon, China and Iraq have also staked claims to what is quickly becoming some of the most famous footwear in the world — orders for Mr. Baydan’s shoes, formerly known as Ducati Model 271 and since renamed “The Bush Shoe,” have poured in from around the world.

A new run of 15,000 pairs, destined for Iraq, went into production on Thursday, he said. A British distributor has asked to become the Baydan Shoe Company’s European sales representative, with a first order of 95,000 pairs, and an American company has placed an order for 18,000 pairs. Four distributors are competing to represent the company in Iraq, where Baydan sold 19,000 pairs of this model for about $40 each last year.

Five thousand posters advertising the shoes, on their way to the Middle East and Turkey, proclaim “Goodbye Bush, Welcome Democracy” in Turkish, English and Arabic.

Turns out the original shoes were destroyed during forensic testing, so no one can be quite sure of the exact brand. On the other hand, it quite possibly took longer to determine that al-Zaidi's shoes were not explosive than it took to realize that Iraq's fabled WMD did not exist.

I should also point out one error in the Times story, wherein the writer insists that "both shoes rocketed squarely at Mr. Bush’s head and missed only because of deft ducks by the president." This is only half true. I'll grant that Bush's initial dodge was objectively impressive, but he was quite clearly unprepared for the second shoe.