• May 26, 2012
CUTE OVERLOAD

July 2, 2009

Obama Has A Laugh With Aviatrixes

by Sara K. Smith  

Oh man do not make me start sappily weeping in STARBUCKSYesterday while the rest of you were out shopping for booze or maybe just emptying out the still in anticipation of today’s 12th annual National Unemployment Day, President Obama was hard at work hanging out with a bunch of pilots — some pretty awesome lady pilots from World War II, and also the first female Thunderbird pilot. Sometimes his job does not seem so bad. [The President's Very Effective Propaganda Photo Site]

{ 75 comments }

hoosiermama July 2, 2009 at 11:01 am

Aw, nice alt-text.

InsidiousTuna July 2, 2009 at 11:02 am

I didn’t know there were sexy lady-pilots dogfighting Nazis. For an aviation-history buff like me, that’s downright titillating.

frumious_bandersnatch July 2, 2009 at 11:02 am

See, George Bush would have *really* made that a memorable event for them, prolly asked one of them to get him some roasted peanuts or another pillow. This new guy… what’s he got going for him?

Come here a minute July 2, 2009 at 11:07 am

“What’s the deal with airplane peanuts?”

Red Zeppelin July 2, 2009 at 11:07 am

[re=353138]frumious_bandersnatch[/re]: And Bill would have been grabbing some ass.

SayItWithWookies July 2, 2009 at 11:12 am

Oh great — now they’re going to be wanting to vote.

Autochthon July 2, 2009 at 11:13 am

ok, that IS pretty cool…

Monsieur Grumpe July 2, 2009 at 11:13 am

What is it about women in uniforms? Hubba hubba.

Rosie Scenario July 2, 2009 at 11:13 am

What’s Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) doing in this photo? It doesn’t say if she sponsored a bill awarding them the medal or if she was a pilot or if she was just passing through and wanted a little Obama to start off her weekend right.

nbawriter July 2, 2009 at 11:14 am

“Raise your hand if you’re in the Mile-High Orgy Club …”

Terry July 2, 2009 at 11:15 am

If all those women were WW2 flyers, some are remarkably well preserved.

Autochthon July 2, 2009 at 11:17 am

the lady-Nazi-asskicker to Barry’s left/our right def. looks like a lil’ ol’ hellion… :0)

Doglessliberal July 2, 2009 at 11:18 am

Sarah Palin isn’t worthy enough to shine these women’s shoes. So there.

[re=353145]Autochthon[/re]: Totally.

Doglessliberal July 2, 2009 at 11:19 am
WickedWitch July 2, 2009 at 11:19 am

[re=353147]Rosie Scenario[/re]: Hahahahahaha — now that’s what I call bipartisan!

Lascauxcaveman July 2, 2009 at 11:21 am

[re=353137]InsidiousTuna[/re]: I didn’t know there were sexy lady-pilots dogfighting Nazis.

I think the ladies were mostly just flying transport missions. Y’know, ferrying crucial supplies of nylons and chocolates over to Europe so our boys on the ground could get a little nookie from the chicks they were liberating from the fascists…

[singing] Come fly with me / Come fly, let’s fly away…

El Pinche July 2, 2009 at 11:23 am

You can almost see the Lewinski’s legendary butt prints on the glistening WH desk.

Min July 2, 2009 at 11:23 am

Aviatrix? Isn’t that what you call a dominatrix who has bird flu?

Egregious July 2, 2009 at 11:24 am

[re=353149]Terry[/re]: I also suspect they take no guff. BTW, the female pilots that fly the A-10 Thunderbolt get some major A$$.

digibal235 July 2, 2009 at 11:24 am

If it were Clinton, there’d be one under the desk.

El Bombastico July 2, 2009 at 11:27 am

Still, calling them all WASPs in the captions seems pretty low. It’s not like Martha Stewart and Ruth Madoff were there.

MargeSimpsonsBlackFriend July 2, 2009 at 11:27 am

The President’s Very Effective Propaganda Photo Site

I’ll say! Every time some shit happens, they release new photos, and everyone collectively forgets everything bad to coo at the president and his ridiculously adorable family.

Cicada July 2, 2009 at 11:27 am

Aviatrix makes me think of tall ladies in high-heeled boots, corsets, and angel wings.

I want to have lunch with these awesome women too.

Hawaiiexpat July 2, 2009 at 11:28 am

New porn genre:

MILFs in uniform!

hobospacejunkie July 2, 2009 at 11:29 am

I didn’t know Bar Bush was a WW2 pilot.

freakishlystrong July 2, 2009 at 11:29 am

Fucking ADORABLE. The end.

Cicada July 2, 2009 at 11:30 am

[re=353174]Hawaiiexpat[/re]: More like GILFS, or even GGILFS.

Autochthon July 2, 2009 at 11:31 am

[re=353159]Lascauxcaveman[/re]: My dad, who was a fighter-pilot (night-fighter, in fact) in WWII, has told me about these women. They also flew new planes to the fronts, so fighter-pilots could be freed up to bring down the Fascists…

Country Club Jihadi July 2, 2009 at 11:33 am

Totally adorable, but he still looks high from the Ben-Gay fumes.

WIDTAP July 2, 2009 at 11:35 am

Postergirl for women in service WWII: Bernice Falk Haydu
Postergirl for women in service Iraq II: Lynndie England

DagNabbit July 2, 2009 at 11:38 am

This is where the white women at?

S.Luggo July 2, 2009 at 11:38 am

WASP pilot Bernice Falk Haydu pulls back the chair of President Barack Obama to give him some matronly tongue.

norbizness July 2, 2009 at 11:38 am

Wasn’t this the basis of one of the verses in Cheap Trick’s Surrender?

Naked Bunny with a Whip July 2, 2009 at 11:41 am

All of those women are now pregnant…with hope!!

saggyboobedhag July 2, 2009 at 11:42 am

Great. Now I feel truly unaccomplished since all I have done in my life is gain (through life experience) the equivalent of a master’s degree in basking. Of course, that makes me a masterbasker but nothing that would get in a photo behind Obama in the White House.

Women pilots. What next? Just like gay rights leads to sex with children and animals, female pilots will lead to a black president. And then everything we believe in and live for will be shot to hell. Buy duct tape and build your fallout bunkers now.

donner_froh July 2, 2009 at 11:48 am

[re=353172]Cicada[/re]: Best part of being president: You get to have lunch with anyone you want.

Worst part: Almost everything else, including trying to grab a burger and having that gabfest Joe Biden tag along.

BlueStateLibtard July 2, 2009 at 11:50 am

Oh that’s just too damn cute and America is just too damn adorable now with Hopey around. Why do Republicans hate America and want to nuke it?

June Cleaver 2.0 July 2, 2009 at 11:59 am

That expression and gesture brings to mind a photo with him, Michelle, and baby Malia, on the night he lost to Bobby Rush. Big win here.

nbawriter July 2, 2009 at 12:00 pm

The one on the far right resembles Danica Patrick … I wonder if she flies the No. 11 GoDaddy jet?

jasper f. krone July 2, 2009 at 12:00 pm

The cabins purged by satellites
now we’re flying blind
we’ve got a lady pilot,
she’s not afraid to die.

Cicada July 2, 2009 at 12:04 pm

[re=353183]WIDTAP[/re]: No, fuck that. Sorry, but a lot servicewomen have been killed over there, not to mention the fact that a lot of them have been raped by their fellow servicemen. England doesn’t get to represent them. Not by a long shot.

DoktorZoom July 2, 2009 at 12:06 pm

[re=353137]InsidiousTuna[/re]:

See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_Airforce_Service_Pilots, where we also learn that most (all?) the WWII WASPs already had private pilot licenses and joined up to ferry fighters and bombers from the factories to airbases in England, as well as “towing targets for live anti-aircraft artillery practice, simulated strafing missions, and transporting cargo.”

But wait! Before we get too warm and fuzzy, let us also note that, like the Tuskegee Airmen and the 442nd Infantry, the brave lady pilots also got the opportunity to have their contributions dismissed by the Powers That Were: “Thirty-eight WASP fliers lost their lives while serving their country during the war. Because they were not considered to be in the military under the existing guidelines, a fallen WASP was sent home at family expense without traditional military honors or note of heroism. The military would not even allow the U.S. flag to be put on fallen WASP pilots coffins.”

I was initially worried that Obama’s meeting with these women wouldn’t have any angles that the Freepers and Redstate could gripe about, but there you have it: affirmative action ZOMG!

Doglessliberal July 2, 2009 at 12:11 pm

[re=353209]Cicada[/re]: thanks, I was going to say that she doesn’t represent female soldiers any more than Graner (sp?) (her lover and partner in crime) represents male ones. That comment is just over the line.

DoktorZoom July 2, 2009 at 12:17 pm

[re=353183]WIDTAP[/re]: No, not really; not by a long shot. How about Postergirl for women in service Iraq II: Kayla Williams?

Bronkers July 2, 2009 at 12:19 pm

Damn skippy way to inaugurate proper 4th of July celebrations. I’m getting all verklempt now.

And thanks, DoctorZoom, for the background, mostly shamefully regrettable as it is.

Can we, now it being the 21st Century and all, really, really manage to achieve the equality that even the Founding Fathers could not have imagined?

Doglessliberal July 2, 2009 at 12:21 pm

[re=353229]DoktorZoom[/re]: or, Tammy Duckworth??

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tammy_Duckworth

nailsinthecoffin July 2, 2009 at 12:22 pm

[re=353164]Egregious[/re]: Show me a woman who flies an A 10 and I will screw her. That is, if she gives pale, pudgy state employees the time ‘o day.

RoscoePColtraine July 2, 2009 at 12:37 pm

Hopey:

“Now ladies, come stand right here if you want to see a throttle.”

S.Luggo July 2, 2009 at 12:40 pm

[re=353146]Monsieur Grumpe[/re]: http://www.strangemilitary.com/images/content/135468.jpg
I don’t know about you, but I’m willing to salute.

Lionel Hutz Esq. July 2, 2009 at 12:43 pm

This really does say a lot about how Obama differs from our last few presidents. Here, everyone is enjoying themselves. Under Bush, he would be trying uncomfortably to give them shoulder rubs while tell sexist jokes that don’t make sense. Under Clinton, an orgy.

DoktorZoom July 2, 2009 at 12:44 pm

[re=353232]Bronkers[/re]: I dunno about “mostly shamefully regrettable,” although certainly that applies to the lack of official recognition and probably to lot of the contemporary coverage: “Girls are very serious about their chance to fly for the Army … even when it means giving up nail polish, beauty parlors, and dates” (LIFE, 1943).

On the other hand, for the pilots themselves, it looks like, comparatively speaking, they were having a blast: flying high-performance planes, contributing to the war effort, and busting down the doors of the Boys’ Club. They even had a Unit Mascot designed by Walt “Nazi Supermen Are Our Superiors” Disney. And thanks to the combination of this nifty Wonkette post and a day off, I’m going to have fun poking around some of the way-cool WASP stuff at sites like http://wingsacrossamerica.us/wasp/index.htm

DagNabbit July 2, 2009 at 12:51 pm

Why is Happy Gilmore’s grandma grabbing Obama’s chair?

She should just go to sleep, before Ben Stiller puts her to sleep.

Terry July 2, 2009 at 12:51 pm

[re=353179]Autochthon[/re]:

Didn’t the women also test the planes that had just been repaired to see if they were safe enough for the combat pilots to use?

zenferret July 2, 2009 at 12:57 pm

[re=353183]WIDTAP[/re]: [re=353209]Cicada[/re]: [re=353238]Doglessliberal[/re]:

Lori Piestewa

Sorry no snark.

Autochthon July 2, 2009 at 12:59 pm

[re=353273]Terry[/re]: That, I haven’t heard.

Daddy HAS said that he and his fellow pilots, before going on patrol, would shake the wings of their planes* so that the loose bolts fell out, then climb into the cockpit and take off…

*English Beaufighters, in this instance

slithytoves July 2, 2009 at 1:07 pm

[re=353262]DoktorZoom[/re]: While you’re at it. Look up the female pilots who applied for the space program early on – totally rejected, of course, and then totally and righteously po’d when John Glenn got to go to space a second time just for being old when they couldn’t go to space the first time just for being women.

Extemporanus July 2, 2009 at 1:09 pm

This is what I call a target rich environment.

rubybuckaroo July 2, 2009 at 1:09 pm

My flight instructor was a WASP.
She still lives here in Santa Monica. I was told she was too ill to attend the festivities today.
Her name is Claire Walters.
She told awesome stories.
Claire was also a founding member (along with Amelia Earhart) of the 99′s, a group of women pilots who started a club for mutual support and adventure.
Makes me prouder.

WadISay July 2, 2009 at 1:15 pm

[re=353153]Doglessliberal[/re]: At least Palin can dress up like a slutty flight attendant.

Rev. Peter Lemonjello July 2, 2009 at 1:16 pm

The lady behind Obama looks like she’s shocked the president is “colored”

Doglessliberal July 2, 2009 at 1:21 pm

[re=353304]WadISay[/re]: True, and then lie about it

One Yield Regular July 2, 2009 at 1:21 pm

If that photo didn’t make so downright sentimental and proud, I’d be inspired to go punch Glenn Beck in the face.

Neilist July 2, 2009 at 1:30 pm

When the B-29 was having major “teething problems” (read, “Flying Out Of The Sky In Flames”), Col. Paul Tibbets got two WASP pilots that he knew to deliver new B-29s to his unit (which dropped the atomic bombs on Japan).

Both had several thousand hours in multi-engine aircraft, which has really unusual for the time. Also, both were Not Bad Looking (at least, by wartime standards):

http://www.northwestern.edu/magazine/northwestern/spring2002/features/flygirl/32b_PU.jpg

The subtext to the men was was, “If these Babes can handle this allegedly ‘unflyable’ airplane, what are you PUSSIES whining about.”

The result? At least 200,000 Japanese incinerated and irradiated . . . FOR FREEDOM!

(Thought I was going to go soft, didn’t you?)

Go WASPs! Lipstick Lesbos Look BETTER in a flight suit than the Codpiece Clown who used sit in the Oval Office.

Neilist July 2, 2009 at 1:32 pm

[re=353153]Doglessliberal[/re]: “Sarah Palin isn’t worthy enough to shine these women’s shoes. So there.”

Well said, sir. Well said. :::polite golf clap, pausing only to look up as aircraft passes over course:::

problemwithcaring July 2, 2009 at 1:35 pm

[re=353293]rubybuckaroo[/re]: Wow, that’s a gift, being so close to a living font first-hand historical experience. You should do some interviews with her and record them or write it up in a blog or a journal, you know, while she is still tellin’ the tales. I’d buttsecks something like that.

populucious July 2, 2009 at 1:40 pm

I would like everyone to refer to me as a “librariatrix” from now on please. If it helps, I will get a uniform.

Neilist July 2, 2009 at 1:42 pm

[re=353342]problemwithcaring[/re]: Ruby: I agree with Problem: Tape her and write it up.

(Maybe about the buttsecks, too. I mean, if she ferried T-bolts or Mustangs, etc.)

Finally: Fifinella, the Disney-created mascot of the WASPs:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/15/Fifinella.jpg

A little dykey, but in that Amelia Erhart-kinda way that Any Sane Man Would Go For . . . (buttsecks or otherwise).

Neilist July 2, 2009 at 1:53 pm

On a more negative note: That photo goes give credence to the old Naval Aviation saying: “Flare to land, squat to pee!”

(It would take longer to explain than it is worth. At least to non-pilots.)

governingbody July 2, 2009 at 2:37 pm

Hey, I might be late to this party, and sorry no snark from a newbie, but…
The women on the left who is not WWII era is Bobbi (last name withheld) and she was the first female F-22 pilot. She’s whip smart and awesome. The younger lady w/brown hair on the right, who’s name I forget, was the first female F-15 pilot.
Just wanted to let everyone know I know some pretty awesome women, and now, by extention, Hopey. Yay.

SayItWithWookies July 2, 2009 at 3:13 pm

[re=353431]governingbody[/re]: You don’t have to withhold her name — it’s printed here with all the other attendees — see the bottom of the article.
http://salem-news.com/articles/july012009/obama_wasps_7-1-09.php

TGY July 2, 2009 at 3:43 pm

Barry holds all the aces.

WIDTAP July 2, 2009 at 4:29 pm

[re=353217]Doglessliberal[/re]: There’s a line?

Ok, Ok! Sorry ladies. My bad.

I’m going with [re=353277]zenferret[/re]‘s call for Lori Piestewa.

Do I at least get to compare Nicole “FiFi” Malachowski’s call sign to the WASP’s mascot? No? I should just shut up and move along?

Ok.

AnglRdr July 2, 2009 at 5:41 pm

[re=353262]DoktorZoom[/re]: Have I told you lately that I love you?

Thank you so much for the information on these amazing women. As a fellow veteran of the female persuasion, I am always enthralled by stories of the unsung uniformed heroes (of which I am most assuredly not).

Scandalabra July 2, 2009 at 7:40 pm

My desk looks just like Hopey’s–a telephone machine, impossibly thin Mac and a tempting tray of cigarettes.

Neilist July 2, 2009 at 8:08 pm

[re=353696]Scandalabra[/re]: Those are signing pens for the legislation, not cigarettes.

The Great Black Hope has no vices, remember.

(Him being surrounded by White Womyns was just a coincidence . . . .)

Comments on this entry are closed.

Previous post:

Next post: