The Iraqi journalist who tossed his shoes at President George W. Bush missed the commander in chief, but he scored a direct hit on the web zeitgeist.
The incident, in which reporter Muntadar al-Zeidi flung his footwear at Bush during a Baghdad press conference Sunday, has turned into a fast-moving internet meme, spawning dozens of games and video mashups.
In the Sock and Awe browser game (screenshot above), players toss shoes at the bobbing-and-weaving president. The Flying Babush and Bush's Boot Camp games offer similar action.
Comedic video cut-ups like b3ta.com user printmeister have already filtered the great presidential shoe-toss of 2009 through the lens of The Matrix (embedded, right).
See more animated shoe-toss GIFs inspired by World of Warcraft, perpetually meme-compliant cats and other pop culture favorites after the jump.
Documentary footage of al-Zeidi's infamous shoe-toss has proven popular online as well, with various clips showing the incident in raw form and slow motion quickly racking up millions of views.
Meanwhile, al-Zeidi, a journalist based in Cairo, Egypt, is well on his way to becoming the international hero of Bush haters. A Facebook group dedicated to al-Zaidi — who capped his shoe-toss with the soon-to-be-immortal words, "This is your farewell kiss, you dog!" — already shows hundreds of fans.
"Great job!" wrote Facebook user Khan Zada on the fan page. "The real hero. God bless you mate."
Bush, who likened al-Zaidi's actions to flipping the bird at an irritating motorist, "harbors no hard feelings about the incident," said White House press secretary Dana Perino. The journalist's punishment, if any, will be left to Iraqi authorities, according to the White House.
Bush's Boot Camp game
Bush's vs. Attack of the Shoes game
Bush Reacts to Shoe Thrower
By Headzup
More Animated GIF Mashups
Christmas
By b3ta.com user Larue
Monty Python
By b3ta.com user mofaha
Pokémon
By NoNewbs.com user YouDontKnowJack
Cats
By NoNewbs.com user Jredrum
The Three Stooges
By NoNewbs.com user Jen
See also:
Behind the Memes With ROFLCon's Biggest CewebritiesROFLCon: It's Not Easy Being Memes
Behind the Memes: Kickin' It With the I Can Has Cheezburger? Kids
Behind the Memes: JibJabbin' the Day Away
Weezer's Memetastic Video Director Spills the 'Pork and Beans'