... a pair made in an overseas sweatshop.
Shoe Co. Won't Sell Wingtips Made for Bush
From Associated Press
July 21, 2006 6:47 AM EDT
PORT WASHINGTON, Wis. - Anyone looking to sport the same red-white-and-blue shoes President Bush received from a Wisconsin company last week is out of luck.
Allen-Edmonds Shoe Corp. says it won't duplicate the patriotic wingtips it gave Bush when he visited its Port Washington factory July 11.
"We think that would take away from the gift that we gave to President Bush," said Mark Birmingham, chief operating officer of Allen-Edmonds. "As it said in the insole, they were made exclusively for President Bush, and we want to honor that."
About 130 people had some role in making the shoes, which took about a day, Birmingham said.
"It was a great source of excitement for everybody, a real morale booster and something everybody could rally behind, regardless of your politics," he said. "We make shoes for the left and the right. This was more about the office of the president."
Bush is a regular customer of the 84-year-old shoe company.
"Just giving him another pair of black dress shoes didn't seem appropriate," Birmingham said.