If The Shoe Fits...

Rukmini Callimachi of the Associated Press seems to think there's something wrong with throwing a shoe at Richard Perle:

Howard Dean, the newly minted leader of the Democratic Party, and former Pentagon adviser Richard Perle made clear their opposing views on the war in Iraq during a debate marred by a protester who tossed a shoe at Perle.

Marred? Marred? Sorry, but this was the first bit of news that made me smile in weeks.

Callimachi also seems to have difficulty understanding what a "barb" is:

"Defense is a lot broader than swaggering around saying you're going to kick Saddam's butt," Dean said Thursday, drawing cheers from the crowd in this city that overwhelmingly voted Democratic last November...

Perle had his own barbs, too. He began his opening comments in the 1 1/2-hour debate by saying Democrats "looked at the Democratic Party and chose a physician to lead them."

Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha. That Richard Perle is quite nimble with the zingers. Good thing Howard Dean's a doctor...he's gonna need some ointment for that whopper of a sting.

One more thing: Is it me or does Perle look like a crazier (if that's possible) version of John Malkovich?


Update: Crooks and Liars has the video.