Iraqi Journalist Attacks Bush

The great philosopher Socrates once said, “I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.” Well one thing I know for sure, there’s at least one Iraqi journalist who hates George W. Bush enough to try and throw, not one, but both his shoes at good ol’ dub-ya. Last week, as President Bush visited Iraq, outside of an US military base for the first time as part of a military farewell tour, journalist Muntadar al-Zaidi tossed both his shoes at Bush while screaming, “This is a farewell kiss, you dog.” If you haven’t seen the clip, you can watch it here.

It’s worth noting that calling someone a “dog” and throwing a shoe at someone is amongst the greatest signs of disrespect in Iraq. A point of fact, when the US tore down Saddam’s statue shortly after invading liberating Iraq, hundreds of Iraqis threw their shoes at the statue. I’ll leave it to you to draw any parallels.

Anyway, so in his second term, Bush became the most hated man around the world and in the US. Bush has achieved the lowest popularity rating amongst any president in the modern era.

But do Asians really care? When’s the last time you heard of massive anti-Bush protests in China? Japan? South Korea? Singapore? Anywhere in Southeast Asia? In fact, as I watch Zaidi’s clip in his attempt to shoe Bush, does anyone in mainland Asia truly hate Bush to such a level. What’s the most recent protest against Bush? The swarm of 1000 South Korean protesters that weren’t down with American beef imports? Hardly an issue related specifically to Bush. The 400 that protested Bush in Kyoto, Japan in 2005? Were any of these protesters willing to go as far as to toss a shoe and “insult of a foreign dignitary” (as Mr. Zaidi is being charged). I hardly doubt it.

There’s really little reason for any discontent from Asia. And as I dig through different Asia-Bush related news across the web, I’m surprised to find that Bush is actually quite informative on Asian matters. During this summer’s Olympics, Bob Costas – NBC’s Olympic Commentator – interviewed Bush days after the opening ceremony, and rather asking sports related questions, Costas turned the interview into an afternoon CNN update. While the main point the public drew from the interview was Bush’s comment that “America has NO problems,” I’m astonished on how articulate Bush was about Chinese national matters during the interview. Given Bush’s track record of silly comments, mispronounced words, and frat boyish pictures, Bush actually summed up his opinions on modern China quite nicely. In the interview, Bush didn’t seem like…well…Bush.

Check out the interview below:

Unfortunately, for Bush at least, he’ll still go down as the worst American President ever.

Representative-Elect Joseph Cao

Who would have thought that an unknown Vietnamese-American immigration attorney with a strong Saturday election and $90,000 hidden in a freezer would soon lead to the first Vietnamese-American in the United States Congress.

On Saturday December 6, 2008 – Louisiana 2nd Congressional District voters voted in Anh “Joseph” Cao, a republican, into the House of Representatives. The 2nd Congressional District encompassing most of New Orleans, up-seated long-time incumbent William Jefferson after Federal investigators found $90,000 in bribe money stashed in his freezer. 

Interestingly enough, for a state full of racially discriminatory history, Louisiana has now elected a Vietnamese-American congressman shortly after electing Indian-American Bobby Jindal as their governor. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining, it’s refreshing to see new Asian-American politics. 

On Cao himself:

Cao says he understands the “melting pot” nature of his adopted state.

He came to the United states in 1975 at the age of 8 along with an older sister and younger brother. His parents and five other siblings had to stay behind in Vietnam as it fell to the communists.

His father, who was an officer in the South Vietnamese army, spent seven years in a communist prison. It wasn’t until 1991 that his family was reunited in the United States.

Cao says that it is important to have a Vietnamese-American in Congress to be a voice for the 1.5 million Vietnamese in the United States, and that his experience as an immigration attorney can bring a needed insight to the hotly debated issue of immigration.

He says he considers himself a moderate, fiscally conservative Republican. Cao says there is Asian tradition to be frugal, but he is more moderate when it comes to issues like immigration and gay rights, although he does not support same-sex marriage.

Source: CNN.com

Although few Asian-Americans have entered into US Politics, with little sign of an immenent surge, Representative-elect Joseph Cao joins the following list of Asian-American Congressmen and women.

• 1957-1963 House: Dalip Singh Saund (D-California)
• 1959-1963 House, 1963-Present Senate: Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii)
• 1959-1977 House: Hiram Fong (R-Hawaii)
• 1963-1977 House; 1977-1990 Senate: Spark Matsunga (D-Hawaii)
• 1965-1977, 1990-2002 House: Patsy Mink (D-Hawaii)
• 1975-1995 House: Norman Mineta (D-California)
• 1977-1990 House: Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii)
• 1977-1983 House: Samuel I. Hayakawa (R-California)
• 1979-2005 House: Bob Matsui (D-California)
• 1987-1991 House: Patricia Saiki (R-Hawaii)
• 1990-Present Senate: Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii)
• 1993-1999 House: Jay Kim (R-California)
• 1993-Present House: Robert C. Scott (D-Virginia)
• 1998-Present House: David Wu (D-Oregon)
• 2001-Present House: Mike Honda (D-California)
• 2005-2007 House: Bobby Jindal (R-Louisiana)
• 2005-Present House: Doris matsui (D-California)
• 2007-Present House: Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii)