US First Lady Laura Bush, pictured in September 2008, said Sunday she was "not amused"

First Lady Laura Bush wasn't amused when an Iraqi reporter threw his shoes at the president during a news conference in Baghdad this month.

“It was an assault,” she said. “And the president laughed it off, he wasn’t hurt, he’s very quick as you know he’s a natural athlete and ducked it, but on the other hand it was an assault.”

But despite her unhappiness, the first lady saw an upside to the Dec. 14 event.

“As bad as the incident is, in my view, it is a sign that Iraqis feel a lot more free to express themselves,” she said.

"I know that if Saddam Hussein had been there the man wouldn't have been released, and probably would've been executed," she said of the Iraqi journalist, who was arrested following the Dec. 14 incident and has been in custody¹ since.

Bush also said she disagrees with critics who have deemed her husband’s presidency² a failure.

Bush noted³ that during her husband’s presidency the country has been safe from terrorist attacks since September 11, that the administration toppled dictators in Iraq and Afghanistan and provided treatment for disease to millions in sub-Saharan Africa. She criticized the media, particularly the coverage⁴ of the response to Hurricane Katrina which she described as being “not really factual." Early reports gave the "misimpression" that 10,000 residents died in the 2005 storm, said Bush. An estimated 1,800 people died in the storm and the flood.

“Do I think the press is fair? No, absolutely not,” she said.

 本月在巴格达举行的一次记者招待会上，一名伊拉克记者向美国总统布什投掷了“鞋弹”，这令第一夫人劳拉•布什大为不悦。

她说：“这是人身攻击。总统先生一笑了之，他没有受伤，你知道他天生就是当运动员的料，身手矫捷躲过了它。但从另一个角度说，这就是一次人身攻击。”

尽管极为不悦，第一夫人还是从本月14日这起“鞋弹事件”中看到了积极的一面。

她说：“在我看来，尽管这件事很糟，但可以看出伊拉克人民享有了更多的表达自由。”

她说：“我知道如果萨达姆•侯赛因还当政，扔鞋的人不会被释放，也许早就被处决了。”制造“鞋弹事件”的记者在事后一直被关押。

劳拉还表示她不同意某些批评人士说他丈夫是个失败的总统。

劳拉指出，在他丈夫的任期内，自9•11事件后美国再没有受到过恐怖袭击。美国政府推翻了伊拉克和阿富汗的独裁政权，并为撒哈拉以南非洲国家的数百万贫民提供医疗援助。

她指责媒体报道常有失偏颇，特别是对卡特里娜飓风救灾不力的报道不实。劳拉称此前媒体将2005年卡特里娜飓风的遇难人数误报为1万人，而实际上据估计死于此次飓风和洪灾的人数为1800人。

她说：“我会觉得媒体公正吗？不，完全不会。”