I've Got Some Good News and Some Bad News. . .

for Muntader al-Zaidi. The bad news is, you're going to prison for three years -- for throwing a shoe. (If that sounds a little harsh, remember -- it was thrown at the American President Bush.)

And what's the good news? Well, Muntader is now a huge hit with the Iraqi ladies!

Mr. Zaidi, whom Iraqi girls call informally by his first name, captured nearly everyone’s imagination here when he threw his shoes at President George W. Bush during a Dec. 14 news conference with the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki. While Iraqi men have been divided over Mr. Zaidi’s gesture, it was hard to find a woman who wholeheartedly disapproved of him.

Zainab Mahdi, a 19-year-old student sporting a red baseball cap, swung on a swing set in a riverside park on Friday as she spoke admiringly of Mr. Zaidi. “Every Iraqi wanted to beat Bush,” she said. “Muntader made our wishes comes true.”

Atiyaf Mahmoud, 19, a student in her first year of medical school said, “I love Zaidi. I saw him in my dreams twice, the last one was after the trial, he was released and I went to congratulate him and shake his hand. "
"I was so excited in that sweet dream,” she said. “I wish to have that dream again.”