George H. W. Bush vomiting incident

The George H.W. Bush vomiting incident occurred on January 8, 1992 around 8:20 p.m. JST when U.S. President George H.W. Bush fainted after vomiting at a banquet hosted by the then Prime Minister of Japan, Kiichi Miyazawa.[1]

Contents

History

On January 8, 1992 Bush was attending a state event for 135 diplomats held at the home of the Japanese Prime Minister, near the end of the President's 12-day trade-oriented trip through Asia. Earlier that day Bush had played a doubles tennis match in which the Emperor of Japan Akihito and his son the Crown Prince Naruhito beat Bush and his partner, a former U.S. ambassador to Japan. Bush had always been "a pretty competitive guy and almost killed himself trying to cover for his lousy doubles partner" on the court.[2]

The incident was widely reported.[1] Like the Jimmy Carter rabbit incident that preceded it, the incident quickly became fodder for the nation's comedians. Footage of the President vomiting was broadcast on the ABC network. The incident was also satirized in an episode of The Simpsons, where Bush angrily declares to Homer that he will "ruin you like a Japanese banquet!"

Bush later made comments to the press that he had a 24 hour flu bug.

Effects of the incident

Several years later, Bush was best remembered in Japan for this event.[2] According to the Encyclopedia of political communication, "The incident caused a wave of late night television jokes and ridicule in the international community, even coining Bushu-suru which literally means 'to do the Bush thing'."[3]

About a decade later in January 2001, on the eve of the inauguration of George W. Bush, a writer noted the stark disparity between the lives of the now-retired Bush Sr. ("Poppy") and Miyazawa, comparing Bush's vomiting incident with Japan's sick economy which Miyazawa was still trying to mend as Japan's finance minister.[2]

According to USA Today, the incident was one of the top "25 memorable public meltdowns that had us talking and laughing or cringing over the past quarter-century."

A satiric play featuring the incident,[4] and an art exhibit with an image of it was reviewed in 2000.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Wines, Michael (January 9, 1992). "Bush Collapses at State Dinner With the Japanese". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/09/world/bush-in-japan-bush-collapses-at-state-dinner-with-the-japanese.html. Retrieved 2009-08-28. "President Bush fell suddenly ill and collapsed at a state dinner being given for him Wednesday night at the home of the Japanese Prime Minister." 
  2. ^ a b c Peter McKillop, "Letter from Japan: Back to the Future: Will George W. Bush carry on his father's (barfing) legacy?, Time Asia found at Time Asia archives. Accessed September 19, 2009.
  3. ^ Lynda Lee Kaid and Christina Holtz-Bacha, "Encyclopedia of political communication," Volume 1, p. 72, (SAGE, 2008), ISBN 978-1-4129-1799-5, found at Google Books. Accessed September 19, 2009.
  4. ^ the Rocky Mountain News in 2000
  5. ^ Art in America.".