George W. Bush pretzel incident
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On January 14, 2002, U.S. President George W. Bush emerged in front of a press conference with a very prominent broken blood vessel welt on his cheek, and said that he had choked on a pretzel while watching television the day before. Bush had reportedly been sitting on his couch, 90 minutes into watching an NFL football Miami vs. Baltimore play-off game on television, when he choked on the pretzel, falling to the ground, injuring himself, and briefly losing consciousness before awakening to see his dogs Barney and Spot showing alarm at his state.[1] Laura Bush was reportedly in the adjoining room at the time, and Bush was alone watching the football game.
His physical injuries consisted of a scrape and bruise across his cheek and lower lip, injured by his glasses when he fell from the couch.[2] He was attended by a physician following the incident.[2] United States Air Force physician Dr. Richard Tubb, who performed the follow-up examination, theorized that the food morsel may have stimulated a nerve, upon becoming lodged in the President's throat. The incident did not affect the President's scheduled flight the following day,[3] and as a joke he had a bag of pretzels sent back to the media pool aboard Air Force One with a note scrawled on the bag, "Chew slowly", once the plane was en route.[4]
The following day, Bush twice addressed press reporters joking that he should have listened to his mother and "chewed before he swallowed."[5]
[edit] Later references
A week after the incident, the choking incident formed the basis of the opening sketch on Saturday Night Live.[6] A month after the incident, Bush continued to draw reference to the event in his speeches — joking about his doctors' readiness to deal with "pretzel-related conditions."[7]
In his 2002 album The End of the Universe, Lewis Black mentions the incident, saying "You've got to be an idiot to choke on a pretzel!" He continues, pointing out that "the only way to choke on a pretzel is to get one of those long ones and pretend you're a sword-swallower."
In the summer of 2003, former Clinton press secretary Dee Dee Myers spoke at a Michigan fundraising dinner, remarking that President Clinton would never have been able to emerge from an empty room with a gash above his eye, and convince people that it was simply caused by a pretzel.[8]
On March 7, 2007, Bush contrasted the event with Franklin Roosevelt's paraplegia and wheelchair, which were largely unknown to the media and the world during the latter's presidency, joking, "Barney and I are watching the ball game. I eat the pretzel, it gets stuck in the throat and I pass out...by the time I wake up, it's like the banner underneath the sports thing, 'President Bush Chokes on Pretzel.'"[9]
Additionally, Steve Bridges, a professional comedian and impressionist who has gained significant fame for his impersonations of George W. Bush, has parodied the pretzel incident.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Bush makes light of pretzel scare", BBC News, 2002-01-14.
- ^ a b "Bush on fainting episode: 'Chew your food'", CNN, 2002-01-14.
- ^ "President chokes on a pretzel", Associated Press, 2002-01-14.
- ^ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (online edition), President's pretzel episode a mere hiccup, January 21, 2002.
- ^ Chimes Online - Bush forgets mother's advice: Chew before you swallow
- ^ Bush Chokes on Pretzel
- ^ President Bush Outlines Health Care Agenda
- ^ http://www.ippsr.msu.edu/Documents/MPLPSummer03Newsletter.pdf
- ^ results.gov : Resources For The President's Team
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