George H. W. Bush vomiting incident

George H.W. Bush celebrated the New Year of 1992 with a 12-day trade-focused trip to Asia and the Pacific to discuss the United States' post-Cold War readjustment of economic relations and policies. On January 8, 1992, Bush played a doubles tennis match with U.S. ambassador to Japan Michael Armacost against Emperor of Japan Akihito and his son, Crown Prince Naruhito. The emperor and crown prince won. That evening, Bush attended a state event for 135 diplomats held at the Japanese Prime Minister's residence. Between the second and third courses, Bush, who had been scheduled to give remarks at the dinner, fainted in his chair while vomiting onto Miyazawa's trousers. First Lady Barbara Bush held a napkin to her husband's mouth until the United States Secret Service took over. While still on the floor, Bush quipped to his personal physician, Burton Lee, "Roll me under the table until the dinner's over." ==Aftermath==

The incident was widely reported, coming just weeks before the New Hampshire presidential primary and became fodder for the nation's comedians. Footage of the President vomiting was broadcast on the ABC network. The incident was parodied by Saturday Night Live with a mock documentary reminiscent of documentaries covering the JFK assassination, featuring Barbara Bush trying to escape by crawling across the table in a manner similar to how Jackie Kennedy escaped the limo in which her husband was shot. Shortly after the incident, an Idaho man named James Edward Smith called CNN and posed as the president's physician, claiming Bush had died. A CNN employee entered the information into a centralized computer used by both CNN and its sister network CNN Headline News, and Headline News nearly aired it before it could be verified. Smith was subsequently questioned by the Secret Service and hospitalized at a private mental health facility for evaluation. In Japan, Bush was remembered for this event for several years. 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 means 'to pull a Bush (or "Bushing it"). According to a 2007 listicle published by 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." In 2008, when asked about his infamous tank photograph, Michael Dukakis said "Should I have been in the tank? Probably not, in retrospect. But these days when people ask me, 'Did you get here in a tank?' I always respond by saying, 'No, and I've never thrown up all over the Japanese prime minister'." ==In popular culture==

• The incident was parodied on the "Player's Club" episode of the skit comedy show In Living Color (episode 22 of the third season, aired March 15, 1992, in the "Snackin' Shack: President's Day" skit with Jim Carrey playing Bush). • The incident is spoofed in the 1993 comedy film Hot Shots! Part Deux (released May 21, 1993). • In The Simpsons episode "Two Bad Neighbors", Bush states to Homer as they are fighting, "I'll ruin you like a Japanese banquet." ==See also==