Laura Bush to Fox News: Shoe Throwing a Sign of Iraqi Freedom

First Lady Laura Bush defended her husband's presidency and legacy against detractors on Fox NewsSunday, implying that the recent infamous shoe throwing incident was a sign of Iraqi freedom.

"The president laughed it off," Bush told Fox News. "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 is an assault. And I think it should be treated that way. And I think people should think of it that way."

"As bad as the incident is, in my view, it is a sign that Iraqis feel a lot freer to express themselves," she added.

When asked about President George W. Bush's legacy as the worst administration in history the first lady defended her husband.

"I know it's not, and so I don't really feel like I need to respond to people that view it that way,"  "I think history will judge and we'll see later."

Among her husband's accomplishments, Bush cited the United States' toppling of Saddam Hussein, what she called the liberation of millions of Afghan and Iraqi people, providing treatment for disease including AIDS and malaria to people in sub-Saharan Africa and his swift response to the Sept. 11 attacks, which subsequently kept the nation safe.

"I think that's very, very important," she said.