It was quite an episode today when that disgraceful journalist in Iraq threw not one but two shoes at president Bush. Thankfully, the president’s quick reflexes allowed him to duck both shoes just barely. But the question I have is where in the hell was the Secret Service? That nut was able to throw a shoe, then wind up and throw a second shoe followed by at least a couple of seconds before he was tackled.

By my count it was more than 6 seconds before Bush’s lead Secret Service agent made it over to the president’s podium. Imagine if that had been a gun and not a shoe? Secret Service agents are supposed to be constantly scanning a crowd looking for unusual movement of any kind. How in the hell was that guy able to throw two shoes before anybody did anything?

What we saw today was a complete failure of the Secret Service to protect the president. The president casually waved off his lead agent who was about to extract him from the room following the incident. Had that been a gun, the president would have already been dead. That agent looked like a deer in headlights. The president should send that greenhorn back to the academy for a bit more training before he entrusts him with his life again.

Watch this video of the incident. Note the piss poor response time by the Secret Service: