Moment By Moment: The President And The Shoe

0:00. All is well. A loose protective knot surrounds the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of Iraq. An open-tied USSS agent hovers to Bush's left, about 15 feet away.

0:01 seconds: Iraqi journalist moves forward toward Bush, and flings a shoe at him; Bush instinctively jukes his head to the left. The momentum carries Bush forward and down.

0:02 Bush is standing back up. His back is straight. The journalist throws his second show, and Maliki, protectively, shoots his left hand up in the air to block it. The shoe touches the tip of Maliki's hand.

0:03: Two seconds out, a USSS agent who had been manning a post with about 10 feet's worth of lateral distance between the president and three or feet behind him, has reacted, and is moving to take a position between the show-thrower and Trailblazer.  [Question: what was the USSS radio traffic like? Did someone call an "AOP" -- attack on principal? -- Or was it silent -- did the agents just react?]

0:03: The shoe-thrower is pulled down from behind by either an Iraqi agent or a USSS agent. In front of him, a man in a dark green suit stands up, turns around, opens his arms as if to catch another show. Is this man a security agent? Is he a member of the press corps?

0:04: The agent, now in mid-frame, looks quickly at the show-thrower, and then looks to President Bush, who opens his palm and gives a non-verbal signal, as if he wants to say: "Dude, don't cover and evacuate me for a shoe, I'm fine."

0:05: Two doors on either side of the podium open. Two USSS agents rush in from stage right, and two Iraqi security agents rush in on stage left.  Seeing that the principals are unharmed and the suspect is in custody, they mill about.

0:08: From the back, several more security agents push through the row of cameras and help the agents who are struggling on the floor with the shoe-thrower.  It is at this point that White House press secretary Dana Perino gets whacked in the eye with a boom mic.