Bush's Fear of Flying

[Jon8503]

Research support for this article was provided by the Investigative Fund of the Nation Institute.

A new source has emerged with what she says is personal knowledge about why George W. Bush prematurely left his Texas National Guard unit in 1972--because nerves, fear and a possible drinking problem were affecting his ability to pilot his F-102A plane. If true, this information further confirms a growing body of evidence that Bush has not been candid about his departure from his unit. At various times the President and his spokespersons have offered shifting rationales, from the planned eventual mothballing of the F-102As, to his doctor's unavailability to give him a flight physical, to a professional opportunity in another state.


However, Janet Linke of Jacksonville, Florida, says that it all came down to an inability to perform. Linke is the widow of Jan Peter Linke, who was brought into Bush's National Guard unit to replace him when Bush left the unit and the state for Alabama in May 1972.

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20041011&s=baker

[Philostopher]

1. Now, see -- I posted something about this in a thread yesterday.

Someone had posted an image of Bush* getting off a helicopter, and he looked like he was clinging to the handrail on the steps, and could barely keep his feet. How many pictures like that have we seen, the past four years -- him wobbling like he's drunk getting off various airborne forms of transportation?

It would have a certain ironic balance, wouldn't it? The fake cowboy who's reputedly scared of horses; the quasi world leader who'd never been out of the U.S. before the late 1980s; the 'brave' national executive who's afraid to fly. It would also explain why he backed off the F-102 to a two-man trainer plane and flight sim missions rather than complete his flight hours in the fighter jet he was supposedly trained to fly -- pissing your pants is generally considered a drawback in a military fighter jet pilot, unless the plane is going down.

I don't remember where I saw it, but wasn't there some anecdotal evidence Bush* might have crashed a plane at some point? If it happened during his flight training, or even off-duty during the time he was in flight school, that would certainly explain the sudden anxiety attacks and unwillingness to continue jet training solo.

Of course, it's all a lot of speculation -- there are so many reasons it could have happened that way. As Howard Dean said of the Bush Administration a few months back -- the problem with not answering direct, honest questions from the public is that the longer you hold them off with evasions, half-answers and outright lies, the wilder the speculation gets.

[Lisa]

2. account of Bush's near-crash of a Cessna after leaving the Guard ...

http://www.seanet.com/~johnco/bush102.htm


And they mention the rumour of a crash while he was in training -- which suggests that people were talking about it even before he ran for president.

[Hubert Flottz]

3. Bad acid trip?

Lost his nerve after flying on LSD and having a bum trip?