Why Don't We Throw Shoes at People?

After an Iraqi journalist pelted a shoe at President Bush in a press conference yesterday, the New York Times reports that "Hitting someone with a shoe is a strong insult in Iraq. It means the person is as low as the dirt underneath the sole of a shoe." My question is: Why is the first time someone tried to hit Bush with a shoe? I mean, having a shoe thrown at you would be pretty insulting. And, if Americans adopted this as a cultural custom, press conferences would be more fun and we would have another way to keep politicians in check. How many of us wish we could have hurled heels and wingtips at Blago last week? Maybe instead of pelting scathing articles, journalists can fling footwear at politicians. And maybe, that would prolong the fall of the press for a little while longer.