"The shoe hurled at President George W. Bush has sent sales soaring at the Turkish maker as orders pour in from Iraq, the U.S. and Iran... The brown, thick-soled 'Model 271' may soon be renamed 'The Bush Shoe' or 'Bye-Bye Bush,' Ramazan Baydan, who owns the Istanbul-based producer Baydan Ayakkabicilik San. & Tic., told Bloomberg News in this story.



"Baydan has received orders for 300,000 pairs of the shoes since the attack, more than four times the number his company sold each year since the model was introduced in 1999. The company plans to employ 100 more staff to meet demand, he said...'We've been selling these shoes for years but, thanks to Bush, orders are flying in like crazy,' " Baydan said. " 'We've even hired an agency to look at television advertising.' "



An Iraqi reporter angry at the war in his country threw his shoes at Bush to show disrespect during a Dec. 14 press conference. Bush ducked, and later joked about the incident. The reporter was seized by other journalists and security and jailed by the Iraqi government, and has asked for a pardon.

