Maker of 'Bush Shoe' Sees Orders Soar

Demand from Iraq, US creates 100 new jobs at Turkish manufacturer
By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 22, 2008 5:30 AM CST
Maker of 'Bush Shoe' Sees Orders Soar
Um Sa'aad, a sister of Iraqi journalist Muntadar al-Zaidi wails as she holds a shoe of her brother at his apartment in in Baghdad, Iraq, Monday, Dec.15, 2008.   (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Muntadar al-Zaidi may be languishing in jail after throwing his shoes at President Bush, but one man has found a bonanza in the Iraqi's unorthodox protest. The owner of the Baydan Shoe Company in Istanbul has insisted that his company made the black leather shoes that nearly conked the president. Now orders are pouring in from around the world, reports the Guardian, and the company has hired 100 extra workers to meet demand.

"We've been selling these shoes for years but, thanks to Bush, orders are flying in like crazy," said Ramazan Baydan, the shoe company's founder. Around 120,000 orders for the Model 271 shoes have come in from Iraq, while one American company has placed a request for 18,000 pairs. Baydan is considering renaming the model the Bush Shoe, or else Bye-Bye Bush; he added, "We've even hired an agency to look at television advertising." (More George W. Bush stories.)

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