Its late and I just got off a 12 hour shift. mrpaige, I'll locate the link tomorrow. Some very good posts by all! ------------------ I am the thread killer
This should keep you busy for a while. http://www.realchange.org/bushjr.htm ------------------ I am the thread killer
I think the main reason you hear more about Bush and his drug use is because it is a mystery. I don't think anyone honestly believes that Gore was more than a recreational pot smoker. He just doesn't have the personality for it. Bush, however, seems at times like an old frat guy who still can drink people under the table. The fact that he says nothing just makes the secret all the more irresistable. Personally, I think the problems (if they were indeed problems) he had in the past would make him more human and interesting that he looks by avoiding the issue. In addition, the Republicans have always harped on the character issue. In this election, outside of the fact that Gore was Clinton's (the most evil and immoral man ever <---sarcasm) VP, Bush is really the one with the character problems and that, in and of itself, is interesting. ------------------ Save Our Rockets and Comets SaveOurRockets.com
Nothing on that site says he was in rehab at age 40. It says he gave up drinking cold turkey at age 40 (which likely means that, though he was apparently a partier, he was not an alcoholic). Where's the link that shows he was in an alcohol rehab program in 1987 (or ever). We don't know what the extent of his drinking was at that point or the circumstances surrounding his giving up alcohol. I do love that site, though, since it makes the assumption that people who don't want their children (or other children) to live the same kind of life they did and make the same mistakes is a hypocrite. I suppose that since I have made mistakes in my life, it would be hypocritical of me to try and keep my sons from living the same life I did. My views apparently are not allowed to be shaped by my mistakes, and I am not allowed to be against anything that I might have taken advantage of in my youth. Personally, I think people can learn from their mistakes (actually, I think everybody learns from at least some of their mistakes). My step-father is a recovering alcoholic. I suppose when he's warning people against drinking or pushing for tougher laws against teen drinking, he's being a hypocrite because he drank in his youth. My former father-in-law had a drunk driving accident many years ago. I suppose he's a hypocrite if he pushes for tougher drunk driving laws now since he was let off with no punishment when he had his accident. To my mind, a person can have even done drugs in the past and gotten away with it only to later be for tough drug laws. Can only people who have never used drugs in their lives be against drugs later in life? It seems silly to me. People change. They grow up (it takes longer for some people than others) and realize that some things they did weren't so hunky dory. And I'm not just noting this because of the GWB attack page. There are plenty of these sorts of barbs that come from the other side, too. It's a bipartisan silliness. All that stupid crap about Clinton being an anti-war protestor, etc. "How can be lead the military? He protested against Vietnam" BS that we had to sit through. It's annoying. (Speaking of Vietnam. It's amazing to me that the Conservatives who made such a big deal about Clinton being able to get out of the draft are silent now that the Republican candidate was the one who was able to get out of the draft through some special treatment. The other end of that is that people who talked in 1992 about Clinton's avoiding service as no big deal now think that Bush's avoiding service is a strike against him.) Going back to the site, it's funny to me that there is such outrage that the UT Investment Trust actually invested piddly amounts in Texas investments that have some connection to GWB. Richard Rainwater getting $20 million from the UT fund? Bug freaking deal. If I had $20 million, I'd give it to Rainwater, too. He's an incredible investment manager and has made billions. The University is not allowed to put money into any investment, no matter how good, that has a connection to some politician? You wouldn't be able to find any investments at all if that were the standard. (Any contrary to what the page implies, Bush does not appoint the UTIMCO Board. It may be run by people who support Bush, but he has no control over them, nor did he put them there.) Bush also does not have any control over the State Teachers Retirement Fund, yet Bush is blamed because they sold Rainwater some buildings. Also the fact that Bush signed the bill that allows for cities to build sports arenas with tourist taxes is used against the Governor and referred to as acting corruptly. So the lesson is: GWB is corrupt because we get to build sports arenas for our teams. I am just dishearted to find out that our own Democrat Les Alexander is also corrupt and in league with GWB in an effort to funnel state money into the pockets of Bush Cronies such as Les Alexander. Now the truth comes out. Les is secretly Republican. ------------------ Houston Sports Board DFW Sports Board
If GW gets in then all you will need is an ex -rock n roll star to be the next pres after him and America will have had the sex drugs and rock n roll of presidents ------------------ Discombobulation Imminent
August 9, 1999 Bush defuses alcohol issue, sidesteps drug rumor David J. Phillip / Associated Press Texas Gov. George W. Bush tried to seize control of the alcohol issue early in his campaign by talking about his "irresponsible youth." By Deb Price / Detroit News Washington Bureau WASHINGTON -- What's the difference between heavy drinking and alcoholism? Quite possibly the White House, judging by Republican George W. Bush's delicate handling of his past drinking. The Texas governor has been remarkably open, especially in recent weeks, about his decision to stop drinking 13 years ago. So far, poll numbers suggest that Bush has defused a story that pundits once predicted could be his undoing. "This is the confessional age -- people enjoythis," says Larry Sabato, author of Feeding Frenzy, a study of the media's hunger for scandal. "It's 'Oprah!' People want to see candidates admit their flaws."Bush has said he drank "too much" in the past, but was not "clinically an alcoholic." In contrast, he has refused to deny repeated rumors of past cocaine use. Many analysts feel that strategy raises red flags -- and that Bush could be damaged later should something come out because he didn't address it as forthrightlyas he has his drinking. Bush is heading into uncharted presidential campaign waters by testing the public's willingness to accept a claim of recovery from excessive drinking. It's too early to know how Bush's admission will play out whether it will be perceived as a dangerous flaw or as a sign of strength. However, recent polls show that voters think they have a right to know about candidates' drinking histories and express some wariness about electing a reformed heavy drinker president. Bush's decision to characterize his own past actions for voters rewarded him with two terms in the Texas governor's mansion -- the first time unseating Ann Richards, herself a recovering alcoholic. Now Bush is taking his strategy national. "It sounds like Gov. Bush saw he was headed in the wrong direction and nipped it in the bud," says Claudine Manchester, 34, a Harper Woods homemaker who likely will vote for him. Not one drop'Bush says he stopped drinking by turning to God. In comments to the Washington Post last month, Bush said he didn't drink during daytime, never attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and doesn't believe he was "clinically an alcoholic." He says he hasn't had a "drop of alcohol" since a hangover after his 40th birthday party in 1986. That Bush, now 53, stopped so many years ago impresses Dave Brown, a Southgate teacher. "Say it was 1996 (that Bush stopped drinking). Then I would say there hasn't been enough time, that it'd be easier to fall off the wagon," said Brown, 34, a Republican who's torn between Bush and Elizabeth Dole. But Helen Gerner, 80, a retiree from Warren, says she'd hesitate to vote for a presidential candidate who acknowledged excessive drinking in the past because stress could "push them over." Gerner, an independent voter, said past cocaine use "would be more troublesome to me as a voter than if a candidate had used mar1juana. It's a more serious drug." Brown and Gerner are not alone in feeling that the public has a right to know about candidates' drinking histories, 1999 polls show: Sixty percent of adults polled say a presidential candidate should have to answer questions about "whether they had an alcohol problem in the past."Thirty-eight percent said they should not. Sixty-eight percent say a past drinking problem shouldn't disqualify a presidential candidate, vs. 26 percent who said it should. Unanswered questions "You can't hide anything anymore, so you might as well take the lead and deal with it," says Stephen Wayne, author of The Road to the White House. Wayne thinks Bush has framed any discussion about his past drinking in the most favorable light, particularly with religious conservatives. "He's trying to show that he's in control of this and he was able to do it on his own," he says. "... And that the only dependency here is one that is politically acceptable -- that is on God." State Sen. Mat Dunaskiss, R-Lake Orion, reflecting on his own past drinking problem, predicts voters will respect Bush's turnaround. A person who has gone through struggles will be seen as having stronger beliefs and depths," says Dunaskiss, who acknowledged a drinking problem in 1997, was re-elected, and is open about his AA membership. But Mark Guerrieri, a University of Michigan political scientist, thinks GOP rivals will raise Bush's past drinking -- and drug use rumors -- to try to cut into his huge lead. Guerrieri argues that Bush's effort to distinguish his drinking from "clinical alcoholism" "sounds a lot like, I didn't inhale,' " a reference to Bill Clinton's much-ridiculed word games in the 1992 campaign over mar1juana use. Bush's openness may keep potentially embarrassing details from being disclosed. However, his refusal to deny drug use has created its own frenzy, expert Sabato notes, with reporters madly searching for sources to confirm gossip. The cocaine whispers are so widespread that the Wall Street Journal published a front-page story May 14 about them, headlined "Behind the Rumors About George W. Bush Is a Culture of Gossip." Bush's sidestepping of questions about cocaine rumors has fueled talk, articles and editorials, and even an unflattering cartoon portrait in Doonesbury, the Journal noted. "If reporters get evidence about past drug use, he will pay dearly for evading," Sabato says. "The public makes a distinction. Drinking, while bad, is on this side of OK. Drugs are not." 'Not an alcoholic,' Texas governor says George W. Bush began talking about "his irresponsible youth" during his 1994 gubernatorial campaign in Texas. He was quoted extensively in a July 25 Washington Post interview about his decision to stop drinking in 1986. Here's what he said: Why he stopped drinking: "I realized that alcohol was beginning to crowd out my energies and could crowd, eventually, my affections for other people." On alcoholism: "I don't think I was clinically an alcoholic. I didn't have the genuine addiction. I don't know why I drank. I liked to drink, I guess." What would happen if he drank: "I'd probably say foolish things." Copyright 1999, The Detroit News http://www.alcoholismkills.com/inthenew.htm Hard to find a direcdt link about his rehab stint. But of course he's going to bury it. But he made a quote on the Today Show early this year that went something like this. "With the love of my wife and family and God, I was able to get help with my drinking. And it's made me a better person." I really don't care what people do in their personal life. Whether its drugs, sex or rock and roll. But don't be subversive about it. And don't skirt the issue. Be honest and I'll accept your answer ------------------ I am the thread killer
Seems to me that had the Vice President's Son entered an actual Rehab Program, it would've made the news then and would be remembered now. A person can quit drinking without having to go to rehab. ------------------ Houston Sports Board DFW Sports Board
Does AA count as rehab? mrpaige yes, you are right about quitting without rehab. Been there. Seems I can't find anything concrete about the rehab stint. I guess I misspoke, I stand corrected. I guess turning 40 is a b****. ------------------ I am the thread killer
According to Gail Sheehy in Vanity Fair, Bush's rehab program was Laura telling him to make a choice- booze or her and his twin daughters. That would do it for me. ------------------
