The Iraqi shoe-thrower guy was in court today and he has a pretty awesome defense: President Bush was not a "guest," so throwing a shoe at him was not even impolite.

Muntadhar al-Zeidi wore leather shoes, the Washington Post points out in the first sentence. Also he was in a wooden cage. "I did not mean to kill the leader of the occupation forces," Zeidi explained. That seems reasonable!

Zeidi, 30, who is charged with assaulting a foreign head of state, posited that Bush's Dec. 14 trip to Baghdad was not an official visit by a foreign dignitary because he arrived to the country without prior notice and didn't leave the Green Zone, which at the time was still under American control.

"I am charged now with attacking the prime minister's guest," he said stoically, making his first public remarks since the incident. "We Arabs are famous for being generous with guests. But Bush and his soldiers have been here for six years. Guests should knock on the door. Those who come sneaking in are not guests."

You know what's awesome about the Iraqi justice system? That defense worked! Zeidi's trial will be postponed while the judge calls up the Prime Minister to determine whether or not President Bush was an "official" guest.

Also he's really trying out for the thrilling Aaron Sorkin adaptation of his story with this one:

"I was feeling the blood of innocent people flow under my feet as he was smiling. I felt that he is the killer of my people and I am one of those people. I became emotional because he's responsible for what is going on in Iraq, so I hit him with my shoe."

Watch out, guys: if this guy gets thrown in jail the people of Iraq might stop loving us so much!