The German center-left news weekly Der Spiegel created a buzz on February 18, 2002 with a drawing by Jean-Pierre Kunkel on its cover. The headline translated into English was "The Bush Warriors - America's Crusade Against Evil".
George W. Bush As Rambo
The Hamburg, Germany artist depicted U.S. President George W. Bush as Rambo, including a pretzel as military tag playing off the January 2002 incident in which he admitted to having choked on a pretzel while watching an NFL football game on the couch alone in the White House and even briefly losing consciousness.
Cheney As The Terminator, Powell As Batman
Behind Bush were Vice President Dick Cheney as the Terminator, Ronald Rumsfeld as Conan the Warrior, Colin Powell as Batman and Condoleezza Rice as Xena, the Warrior Princess. The article basically argued that the U.S. had been responding to the September 11 terrorist attacks by embarking on a world-wide military crusade. The cover was published just six months after 9-11 and well ahead of the 2003 war in Iraq.
"Bush Warriors" is Back
In coordination with the der Spiegel editors, Kunkel came back for another dose of "Bush Warriors" in this week's edition with the headline "The Bush Warriors - End of the Performance". Bush is visually beaten up with his machine gun ammunition strap doubling as an arm brace. Cheney looks very dejected and tired and the great detail includes one of the lenses of his glasses being cracked. Rice is cut up and her hair frazzled. Powell's Batman costume is hanging on a hook and Rumsfeld is only partially on the cover.
Here a link with both covers side-by-side
President Bush Flattered With Cover, Posters Ordered for White House
This week's Spiegel reported that President Bush was so flattered with the 2002 cover that he through the U.S. Embassy in Berlin had ordered 33 posters for the White House. It remains unclear if the White House is interested in purchasing posters of the latest Spiegel cover.
Cover Mirrors Battered U.S. Nation
The magazine editors said the cover of the beaten warriors mirrored the battered mood in the United States. The article inside was titled "The White House Blues" and focuses on the U.S. losing its status as a world power. It said America is threatened to be giving up its leading role politically, economically as well as morally. It also argued that the United States is in the middle of losing its biggest advantage - its optimism towards the future.
