Lexington: Norman's conquest

摘要

Nearly 5m well-wishers, 200 miles of ticker tape and a chorus line of Ziegfeld girls welcomed General Norman Schwarzkopf to New York in June 1991, when he paraded down Broadway to celebrate Iraq's routing in the first Gulf war. The general, a growling, beaming bear of a man, danced with Mickey Mouse in Florida and was saluted at the Kentucky Derby. Addressing members of Congress, he earned seven standing ovations as he mocked the "prophets of doom, the naysayers, the protesters and the flag-burners" who had predicted Americans would lose heart during the six-week campaign to eject Saddam Hussein from Kuwait. Republicans talked of a Senate bid. The general would be "marvellous" on the Democratic presidential ticket, countered a former speaker of the House of Representatives, Tip O'Neill.