Shameful Newsweek cover in 1987 calls President George HW Bush a "wimp" for World War 2 Service

[basquebromance]

they put him on their cover when he died so they can sell copies. not so bad for a wimp!

 

[hjmick]

Which the editor at the time explained yesterday...

In October 1987, when George H.W. Bush announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States, Newsweek magazine ran a cover story titled “Fighting the ‘Wimp Factor.’” The article did not quite come out and declare that Bush was a weakling, and it noted that Bush’s own advisers were worried about the “wimp” label. But the clear implication of the cover story (which I edited, penciling in the word “wimp” over the objection of the story’s reporter, Margaret Warner) was that Bush somehow lacked the inner fortitude to lead the free world.

How wrong we were...

I called George Bush a ‘wimp’ on the cover of Newsweek. Why I was wrong.


I remember 1987. I remember why people thought he might be a wimp politically. I voted for him.

 

[rightwinger]

Bush did not wimp out
He had a very strong foreign policy and helped bring an end to the Cold War

 

[theHawk]

It’s quite funny that suddenly liberals are gushing praises about Bush.

I remember when he was a “war monger” who was sending troops overseas in a “blood for oil” war, according to the left.

 

[Sunni Man]

George H.W. Bush at age 18 was the youngest naval aviator in the Navy and definitely not a wimp. ...


"On August 1, 1943, Bush was promoted to Lieutenant First Grade. The USS San Jacinto then began attacking the Japanese in the Bonin Islands. This operation went on for some time. On September 2, 1944, Bush piloted one of the four planes that attacked Chi Chi Jima. The Japanese fired back using anti-aircraft missiles. His plane was hit, and his engine caught on fire.

Despite this, he and his crewmates managed to complete the attack run, and their shots scored several direct hits that did immense damage. He flew out several miles, and then he bailed out. The two other crewmen on the plane were killed in action, one dying when his parachute didn't open. Bush waited several hours in an inflatable raft, while Japanese boats were on their way to capture him. However, other military planes circled over Bush in order to protect him, until a submarine named USS Finback rescued him. Bush stayed on the sub for a month, and helped to rescue other pilots, before being delivered to Midway. For all these accomplishments, Bush received the Distinguished Flying Cross."

President George H.W. Bush's Military Service | Study.com

 

[rightwinger]

It’s quite funny that suddenly liberals are gushing praises about Bush.

I remember when he was a “war monger” who was sending troops overseas in a “blood for oil” war, according to the left.

Most liberals supported the liberation of Kuwait.
It is conservatives who threw the Bushs under the bus even though they delivered on the conservative agenda

 

[deanrd]

they put him on their cover when he died so they can sell copies. not so bad for a wimp!

You can’t always judge a book by its cover. Anyone who has seen the movie hell and back knows that for a fact. Audi Murphy played himself in the movie and he was the most decorated soldier during World War II. And yet he came across as a very soft-spoken and soft kind of doughboy. Which is exactly why you can’t judge a book by its cover.

That was the point of the cover. Hate it when these things have to be explained especially when there so obvious.

 

[Sunni Man]

Audi Murphy played himself in the movie and he was the most decorated soldier during World War II. And yet he came across as a very soft-spoken and soft kind of doughboy. Which is exactly why you can’t judge a book by its cover.

I totally agree with your post except for your use of the word "doughboy" when referring to Audi Murphy, which was the nickname for US infantry soldiers during WWl not WWll .....

 

[harmonica]

typical MSM crap--this is done almost everyday

 

[Synthaholic]

It’s quite funny that suddenly liberals are gushing praises about Bush

You're lying again.

 

[Synthaholic]

Bush was a wimp, politically, despite whatever guts he showed when he was young and dumb. And the U.S. has paid the price for him trying to 'man up'. He was kind of an asshole, IMO.

 

[blastoff]

Whether a guy steeped in bravery can also be a wimp I’ll leave up to the experts, if there are any, but there’s no denying GHWB had balls.

We often hear about his days as a fighter pilot, including from W during his eulogy the other day, but the Navy/ Marine fighter planes of the pacific - Wildcats, Hellcats, Corsairs, etc. - were single engine, single seat planes. Single engine planes with a 3-man crew were torpedo planes and those with 2-man crews were divebombers. The torpedo planes which seem from what I’ve read to be what he flew on most of his 50-something combat missions were more of a death trap IMO than either bombers or fighters. They were much slower and their missions required they get right down on the deck before dropping the torpedos, flying directly at a targeted ship until at the proper range for the drop. Meanwhile, every gunner on the target knew what such a low flying plane was up to so you can bet every gun capable of firing in that direction was trained on the incoming mortal threat. How much lead was trained on one is anyone’s guess, but the causality rates of torpedo crews was really awful as they were pretty much sitting ducks both while closing that final gap until release and then trying to get the hell out of harms way afterwards.

BIG BALLS!