Read the full article at The High School Conservative.
Well…this is embarrassing. It turns out News Talk WBAP 820 in the Dallas/Ft. Worth are has released a false email in which they claim that President George H.W. Bush has died of his illness.
Apparently,they sent out an email claiming the former president had died.
Meanwhile, the Dallas Observer issued the following statement on the President’s current condition:
George H.W. Bush, the country’s 41st president, has been in a Houston hospital for more than a month now, undergoing treatment for complications from a serious case of bronchitis. The 88-year-old was checked into intensive care on Wednesday “following a series of setbacks, including a persistent fever.”
It was during his stay in the ICU that local radio station WBAP apparently got word that he had died and dispatched a breaking news bulletin via email announcing that Bush had died. Liberally Lean has a screenshot.
That’s a bit embarrassing since Bush Sr. remains very much alive. His spokesman told the Associated Press this morning to “put the harps back in the closet,” as the former president does not plan on going anywhere.
WBAP quickly realized its error and sent another message.
“A message erroneously reporting the death of President George H.W. Bush was sent out moments ago by WBAP News,” it said. “Mr. Bush has not passed away. We sincerely apologize for this error.”
News director Rick Hadley forwarded questions about the slip to Dan Bennett, market manager for Cumulus media. We’ve left a message.
Jean Becker, Chief of Staff for the former President, wrote an email, which has been obtained by Chron describing the President’s current condition.
In her email Thursday, Becker wrote that McGrath’s statement had prompted inquiries from “most of the civilized world.”
“Is he sick? Yes. Does he plan to go anywhere soon? No,” she wrote. “He has every intention of staying put. He would ask me to tell you to please, ‘put the harps back in the closet.’ “
Becker said the family was resisting releasing a statement out of respect for the former president and relatives. She said they prefer to deal with health issue in private. Bush “is so beloved we knew everyone would overreact,” Becker wrote.
Her email continued, “Will he be in the hospital for a while? Yes. He is 88 years old, he had a terrible case of bronchitis which then triggered a series of complications.”
Bush has been battling a persistent fever since last week. Although McGrath has said Bush and his family have been in a frustrating situation, he said Bush is alert and has been having a “running banter” with his nurses and is surrounded by family.
In February, it was reported that Bush had been diagnosed with lower body Parkinsonism, a condition that causes instability from the waist down. As a result, he mostly uses a wheelchair.
On Nov. 7, he was admitted to the hospital for a lingering bronchitis-like cough and was discharged Nov. 19. He was readmitted the day after Thanksgiving when the cough persisted.
Bush spent Christmas Day in the hospital with his wife, Barbara, and several family members who live in Houston. Two sons – former President George W. Bush and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush – have visited him during his hospital stay and are planning to visit again soon.
Bush and his wife live in Houston during the winter and spend their summers in Kennebunkport, Maine.
Bush was born in Milton, Mass., on June 12, 1924. His father, Prescott Sheldon Bush, was an investment banker who later became a Republican senator from Connecticut, serving from 1952 to 1963. His mother, Dorothy Walker Bush, came from a St. Louis investment banking family.
Bush enlisted in the Navy when he was 18 and was an aviator in World War II. At 24, he moved with his wife to Texas.
In all fairness, the radio station did release a statement correcting their mistake. But you have to wonder how long it took to create the image that was in the email they sent? Surely they had enough time to check their sources before they created it. As we can see, the President is clearly still alive.
Read the full article at The High School Conservative.
