Classic Model 271: Turkish Company Struggles to Meet Demand for “Bush Shoes”

It appears that, just as O.J. Simpson proved a bonanza for Bruno Magli shoes, Iraqi journalist Muntadar al-Zeidi has triggered a run on brown, thick-soled “Model 271” shoes — the type that he hurled at Bush. Istanbul-based producer Baydan Ayakkabicilik San. & Tic. is rushing to fill orders for the shoes which will be renamed “The Bush Shoe” or “Bye-Bye Bush.” No stylish anti-American or anti-Bush male would be caught dead without a pair.

Baydan has received orders for 300,000 pairs of the shoes since the attack, including a request for 4,000 pairs from a company called Davidson, based in Maryland. The model was introduced in 1999. The company is now bringing in 100 more staff to meet demand.

It just shows how unpredictable life can be. If you had watched Bush through college and his early years, you would have assumed any shoe named after him would have been a loafer.

This should also be a bonanza for brown shoe lovers, which have their own site. Brown shoes have now played a leading role in politics and, as in this Chaplin classic, in cinema.

In the meantime, al-zeidi is not only likely to get a lifetime of shoes from the company, he has been offered the daughter of any Egyptian family.
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