First lady says shoe-throwing an assault

[December 29, 2008]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- First lady Laura Bush says President Bush laughed it off, but that it was an "assault" when an Iraqi reporter threw his shoes at the president during a news conference in Baghdad.

In an interview aired Sunday on Fox News Sunday, Mrs. Bush said she was not amused.

The president deftly dodged the shoes and wasn't hit. He continued the news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki after security officials dragged the journalist from the room.

Mrs. Bush says the president is a "natural athlete" and that he "laughed it off," but that she thinks people should view the incident as an "assault."

On the other hand, she says the incident shows that Iraqis today are enjoying more freedom to express themselves.

[Associated Press]

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