Daily Archives: August 24, 2020

First German bombing of London sparks war of attrition 80 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Aug 24 1940)

1940s, World War II


Video: 'World War II - Blitzkrieg to the Bomb Documentary' (Aug. 24, 1940, at 20:41)

(Saturday, August 24, 1940, around 11:00 p.m. BST; during the Battle of Britain, part of the Western Front of World War II) — The Luftwaffe dropped bombs on the financial heart of London and Oxford Street in the West End tonight, probably unintentionally as the German bomber pilots had likely made a navigational error and did not know they were over the city, starting a war of attrition that would last five years.
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‘Give me a week’: Eisenhower dodges question on Nixon’s leadership 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Aug 24 1960)

1960s, U.S. Presidents


Video: 'IFP:135 F-12-1M Eisenhower on Nixon - JFK Campaign Spot'

(Wednesday, August 24, 1960, 10:30-11:00 a.m. EDT; during the 1960 United States presidential election) — U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who had long been ambivalent about Vice President (and now GOP presidential nominee) Richard Nixon, held a televised press conference today in which a reporter, Charles Mohr of Time, mentioned Nixon’s claims that he had been a valuable administration insider and adviser.

Mohr asked Eisenhower if he could give an example of a major idea of Nixon’s that he had heeded. Eisenhower responded with the flip comment, “If you give me a week, I might think of one.”

Although both Eisenhower and Nixon later claimed that he was merely joking with the reporter, the remark hurt Nixon, as it undercut his claims of having greater decision-making experience than Nixon’s Democratic opponent, Senator John F. Kennedy.

The remark proved so damaging to Nixon that the Democrats turned Eisenhower’s statement into a television commercial.