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May 26, 2006

The Truth About Bill Clinton's LAX Haircut

O
n an email list in which I participate, a Rush Limbaugh-type character recently trotted out the old "Bill Clinton shut down LAX for hours so that he could get a haircut" story.

The details of this story have long had the whiff of urban legend to me, so I decided to check it out.

Here's what I found in the New York Times:

"A person familiar with the airport's operation on the day of the visit said that the plane was parked in a secure 'non-movement area' and remained on the ground for 56 minutes, from 4:52 p.m. until 5:48 p.m., while Mr. Clinton got styled.

"This resulted in at least two flights being held up longer than 15 minutes, the threshold requiring an accounting to aviation authorities. Both delays -- one 17 minutes, the other 25 -- were on commuter flights with fewer than 30 passengers. Other, larger craft were delayed too, for less than 15 minutes, because all traffic had to be diverted to the two runways that remained open."

Robert Reinhold, "The Pilot Has Turned Off the 'Shrewd Move' Sign," NYTimes, 5/23/1993, at E5.

I know it doesn't matter. But now, maybe people googling the anecdote will find these facts, rather than just the legend that circulates in Wingnuttia.

Posted by Eric at May 26, 2006 8:45 AM

Comments

Yep. We can hope.

Bush, OTOH, delayed the return of the USS Lincoln, for several days, so he could have his Mission Accomplished photo op.

The Lincoln had been on the longest deployment in USN history, and he had keep it out of port so he could play Top Gun.

TK

Posted by: Terry Karney at May 26, 2006 4:08 PM

Isn't comparing "Dodger Goodyear" to Rush being a little too charitable to... Rush? :)

Posted by: Simon at May 28, 2006 7:52 AM