I don't see anything wrong with this. It's a release and it hurts no one. Least of all Bush. The guy is set...oodles of cash and property, security team for life, family is healthy and his life will go on just fine.

This is no different than drawing mustaches on the people you hate in your year book.

They're not tossing them at the Real Bush, not at the federal buildings, and all they're doing is joining in some harmless but rather pointless "artsy fartsy" release of anger at the administration.

Take a stroll through history and find out what people were doing to effigies of Nixon LMAO. Carter, Reagan....many an effegie was put up on Dart boards, painted on the sides of buildings and defaced, posters made up etc etc etc...

I highly doubt Bush would give a rat's patootey about this at all. Might even find it amusing.

Sometimes people need to let off steam in a controlled and quite harmless environment and that's all this was. I hope they raised some good amount of cash for their gallery at any rate.

Something I learned last weekend which I found interesting... the throwing of shoes in the Muslim world isn't necesarily intended to injure the target physically. It is viewed as a sign of intense disrespect. I learned this while watching a Bloomberg report on the protests at Trafalger Square in London over the Gaza conflict. They showed dozens of protestors throwing old shoes at an Israeli and a British flag that had been laid out in the square. It's kind of like spitting on someone in this country, very, very disrespectful, but not intended to deal any physical harm.

Under that light, I think this "art" exhibit is pretty dumb. They've missed the point entirely and are essentially making spectacles of themselves.

To vor78: I agree, but we shouldn't be funding the arts regardless of what direction they take towards our leaders. Funding for the arts and quotas on percentages of tax dollars spent on the arts are every bit as socialistic as any bank bailout. If these "arts" had real merit, they'd be able to stand fully supported on the contributions and earnings from their private supporters. In much the same vein as those who said the process of attrition should be allowed to occur and banks that are about to fail should have been allowed to do so, I say "arts" that cannot support themselves should be allowed to fail.

My niece goes to college in Ashland. There isn't much to do there when you are snowed in.. but imo this is using current trends to boost advertising for their gallery. And who doen't like throwing red paint dipped shoes at something and then calling it art?
Seriously though, it is harmless to everyone except the people who enjoy judging others mistakes after the fact. I think Bush intended to protect our country and hating him for that is hard for me to swallow.

I'd like to see what the people throwing shoes would have done different for this country.
I am tired of the bush hating. It isn't helping our country in the slightest.

It's a little childish.
How much money was wasted on this 'creative expression?'