Bush: 'I Doubt I'd Be Standing Here If I Hadn't Quit Drinking Whiskey'

[sabra]

Source: ABC News

<snip>

"I doubt I'd be standing here if I hadn't quit drinking whiskey, and beer and wine and all that," the president disclosed Tuesday to ABC News' Martha Raddatz during an exclusive tour of the White House residence.

"I had too much to drink one night, and the next day I didn't have any," Bush said. "The next day I decided to quit and I haven't had a drink since 1986."

And you did it just cold turkey?" asked ABC News' Martha Raddatz.

"I'm a better man for it," Bush said.

The president said his alcohol problem wasn't severe, but said he still had a hard time quitting.

"I wasn't a knee-walking drunk," Bush said. "It's a difficult thing to do, which is to kick an addiction."


Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/Politics/story?id=3985919&page=1

[Bluebear]

1. Total denial, no recovery program, a walking dry-drunk. nt

[Joe Bacon]

59. He didn't mention the cocaine?????

...well, 1 out of 2 ain't bad :evilgrin:

[Thor_MN]

131. Maybe no whiskey, but he may have had a little Captan in him

[hisownpetard]

148. I hate to ask this, but...why is he smelling his fingers?

[Javaman]

80. From a well known source....

;) he ain't that dry. :evilgrin:

[AnneD]

89. so is he....

moist...:spray:

[Javaman]

90. LOLOL

moist like a pickled fish. LOL

[SIMPLYB1980]

92. LoL!

[lynnertic]

116. Real question here: why does an alcoholic have to undergo

treatment administered by a 3rd party in order to kick their habit?

Why not just decide to stop, the way people decide to stop smoking?

I know plenty of people who drank when they were young and stopped because their stomachs, their maturity, their weight, whatever reason.

They're happy, healthy people who didn't undergo any treatment except changing their minds about what was fun to do.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

145. hey I thought he said he had a beer with the pretzel?

or was it an nonalcoholic

[gateley]

2. But now that I've discovered Absinthe, I'm doing great!

[WheelWalker]

17. That's fuck'n hilarious!!

On edit - I'm still laughing my ass off. You're great, Gateley. You are Worthy !!

[eleny]

23. How do we nominate that for a DUzy?!

[WheelWalker]

25. I'm too new here at DU to know what a DUzy is, but that one's

got MY vote, and I'll tell you - I'm not easily impressed.

[silverojo]

31. To explain a DUzy

It's an award given for a hilarious post.

[WheelWalker]

35. Well, then, give me a round of DUzys for the house, bartender... it's on the chimp.

[SIMPLYB1980]

93. LoL!

This thread is great.
:rofl:

[lonestarnot]

139. Welcome to DU V.I.

:toast:

[hisownpetard]

149. First you say you don't know what a DUzy is, and then you say you want to

nominate a post for a DUzy.
I was puzzled, but then I saw your screen name.
'Village Idiot,' proceed...

and welcome to DU!!!!!!
:hi:

[KamaAina]

130. Send a PM to JeffR

JeffR is to the DUzys what the firm of Price Waterhouse (now PriceWaterhouseCoopers) is to those other awards.

[hisownpetard]

151. What other awards? ARE there other awards, besides the DUzys? You're

sh**ing me, right?

[Posteritatis]

40. Zing! (nt)

[Hieronymus]

41. The bloated ego is a sure sign of an alcoholic. Look at me, I quit .. it's hard.

Think he's on Absinthe? That does mess with your mind.

[Hekate]

49. Making friends with the Green Fairy has changed his life?

:rofl:

[baldguy]

114. There's culture & ritual involved in drinking absinthe

He shopped drinking whiskey - and started drinking whisky.

[Lisa]

120. perfect -- can we say that Bush is truly absinthe-minded? (n/t)

[LakeSamish706]

3. I don't believe for one minute that he isn't still drinking! n/t

[maddiejoan]

7. He gave up Whiskey

Everything else is on the table though.

[LakeSamish706]

13. I call BS on that as well... I think he is drinking everything... Some days...

ya just gotta look at the bags under his eyes and it tells the story.... Lots and lots of booze of any and all descriptors.

[WheelWalker]

34. He has been looking a bit the color of furniture polish, I was thinking.

[JuniperLea]

102. Rimshot!

[Art_from_Ark]

122. Pooty-Poot sez vodka is sooooo much better

[Bongo Prophet]

138. "Everything else is on the table"...and under the table...

and in the cupboards, buried in various places at the pigfarm and Camp David, in the hull of the Bush fishing boat, and in the secret compartment in the oval office desk where JFK Jr. used to hide.

[hisownpetard]

150. "Everything else is on the table." Yeah, except impeachment.

[Botany]

26. Besides his "gin blossoms & red nose" how about on video?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ViQMkqnToA

It might have been "near beer" but still ....

[Dawggie]

46. This is the killer tape though...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrEdjaJt9iY&feature=related

[hisownpetard]

153. Even after all these years, I still cannot believe that this man is President of the United States.

What a horrible abberation he is.

But, BTW - welcome to DU!!

[bdamomma]

66. on tape no less.

stomach ailment sure.

[MilesColtrane]

83. Suuuuuuuuuuurrrre he quit in 1986.

This is from 1992.

What's in that there glass Junior?


http://www.thesmokinggun.com:80/graphics/packageart/bush/tsg_bush.avi

[tavalon]

27. I do think he was a dry drunk

until 2004 or thereabouts. But dry drunks are just as volatile as wet ones so it isn't much of a change. His liver, I'm sure, would disagree but I don't like his liver any better than I like him.

[olddad56]

74. I guess that means I wish he had never stopped drinking...

if it means he wouldn't be president.

[olddad56]

76. and a million Iraqi citizens would still be standing if he was still drinking.

[msongs]

4. killing 1/2 million in iraq is more rewarding to him than drinking. nt

[hisownpetard]

42. You seem to think they're mutually exclusive... Bet Bush doesn't!

[Webster Green]

5. Those fucking pretzels are a bitch though!

Fuck you chimpy! You're a drunk-ass fucking piece of maggot shit to this day.

You lie about everything, and this is no exception.

[HowHasItComeToThis]

10. BEHOLD, A WORLD OF BULLIES

:woohoo: :sarcasm: :woohoo: :sarcasm:
:applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:

[tecelote]

51. Speaking of the pretzel incident...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x3812375

"Owen says he was told by a British doctor who had visited Johns Hopkins that lab technicians there found that the blood contained significant amounts of alcohol—this in the body of a man who claims he hasn’t had a drop in more than 20 years."

[City Lights]

56. I missed that thread. Thanks for linking it here.

:hi:

[susu369]

60. Thank you -

my threads usually die pronto :)

I'm looking forward to reading Lord Owen's book.

[zabet]

100. Tsk tsk..

you know that was a
terrarist pretzel that
injected him with alcohol
before attempting to
choke him to death.
:sarcasm:

[Boudica the Lyoness]

99. Well said

I couldn't have put it better myself.

[HowHasItComeToThis]

6. BINGO FOR YOU

:toast: :bounce: :toast: :bounce: :puke: :puke: :puke: :puke:

[lpbk2713]

8. Smirky sez ... *I don't drink any more.*

"I don't drink any LESS,

but I don't drink any more."

[Richard Steele]

9. Actual photo taken while he spoke:

[msongs]

21. that's cute nt

[Richard Steele]

47. But it does TECHNICALLY support his claim that he's stopped drinking whiskey.

Kinda funny how he's NEVER declared that he stopped snorting coke, though.

[WheelWalker]

37. Give this man a DUzy, barkeep....and make it a double. This one's on the Chimp, too.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

11. He sure can name his poison, huh? Mmmmm, whiskey.

:eyes:

MKJ

[bdamomma]

62. he was certainly doing the hard stuff, and it shows today.

I don't think he has stopped drinking either, yea, sure, he woke up and said no more drinking, what total BS, from the biggest BS'er

[Olney Blue]

111. Yes, even if he is indeed "clean" now- severe damage was done.

And the world is paying for it.....

[onehandle]

12. Bush: 'I Doubt I'd Be Standing Here If I Hadn't Cheated'

Source: Karl Rove

[flordehinojos]

48. wow! perfect for a bumper sticker:

'I Doubt I'd Be Standing Here If I Hadn't Cheated'

[fascisthunter]

14. I'll Send Ya a Case! (nt)

[Hulk]

15. God, I wish he had kept drinking. He LOOKS LIKE a typical, stereotypical drunk...except ..

for the clothes and hair cut.

His wife's a good one too. Didn't she run over one of her old boyfriends and kill him early on too? NOT A WORD about this in the media. I swear, we are ALL sheep.

[kestrel91316]

110. Yeah. She did. Just HAPPENED to run into the guy who had

apparently just broken up with her.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/e1698.htm

[defendandprotect]

16. It's a Repug thing: you believe what you're saying, but you know that you're lying --- !!!

[defendandprotect]

18. ...and also said to be heavily medicated with anti-depressants --- !!!!

Can you kill 2 million Muslim civilians and not feel anything --- ?????

[silverojo]

32. Well, he can kill American citizens & soldiers

So I doubt Muslims will register any higher on his moral radar.

[Zorra]

19. Ironic. The world would be so much better off if he hadn't quit drinking.

That's really sad.

[defendandprotect]

118. Oh . . . a healing laugh --- !!!

Love your reality---!!

[GoddessOfGuinness]

20. Cocaine, on the other hand...

[jimshoes]

22. Darn the bad luck

:eyes:

[Botany]

24. Ummm ... yea right

[bdamomma]

64. yea right sure, he kicked it, what BS.

[Gman]

28. ...can I borrow your mirror?

got a razor blade handy?

[Amerigo Vespucci]

29. No, he "wasn't a knee-walking drunk"...

...he just took out his dick one night and pissed on a cop car and yelled for his daddy to come out of the house so he could take him on "mano a mano."

It's all right there on Google, folks...start digging.

President Bush was a RESPECTABLE, CULTURED drunk.

:eyes:

[Historic NY]

30. Near beer is beer, check out these pictures

http://www.americablog.com/2007/06/is-bush-drinking-again.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ViQMkqnToA









drink enough and you will get a BAC

[Caretha]

58. He's as drunk as a skunk

comes to mind in the picture with Putin.

[bdamomma]

63. nothing but rich drunk frat boy.

who is a coward, and never in his life had to struggle, every dog has its day hopefully.

[jgraz]

94. Pictures of a young * really creep me out

It's incredibly disturbing to see a young man with those dead eyes and that psychopath smirk.

[bdamomma]

98. yea, he still has that fcuk you attitude doesn't he??

he's been a nothing for so many years, up until he was forty, he obviously wanted to show his "daddy" he could do anything better than him, definite jealously and that "I show you Daddy" attitude, but did he have to get us involved with his sick sick mind games?

[Historic NY]

105. Looks just like Serial Killer Ted Bundy.

[SharonAnn]

124. My, he hasn't aged well, has he?

[Lisa]

137. Aw, give the guy a break, SharonAnn -- his parents gave him one of those special portraits ...

.... like in the Oscar Wilde story, that's supposed to take on all the damage of debauchery and the aging process, while leaving him unscathed. But he stumbled into it and destroyed it one night, while he was on a bender.

[Pastiche423]

33. Total and complete bullshit

His urine should be checked every day. Every single day.

[madamesilverspurs]

38. Nah,

he probably has a warehouse full of Whizzinators. Hmmm, that could explain that flight suit...

[Pastiche423]

39. As a former drunk

there is no way in hell that I would believe he quit.

[Lint Head]

36. Who needs booze when your addicted to crime and killing

thousands of innocent people and you get your fix any time you like. He's an alcoholic that's never held responsible for his actions. He's lied before so why believe him now.:dem:

[fed-up]

43. and just what the hell is this supposed to mean "....AND ALL THAT"?? nt

[bdamomma]

65. because he has done AND ALL THAT!!!

[Gonnuts]

44. I say ...

we all kick in and buy bush a case of beer, two bottles of wine and a fifth of whiskey and see if he's here tomorrow!

[Gonnuts]

45. oh ...

and an eight-ball ...

[SammyWinstonJack]

70. ...

:evilgrin:

[Guaranteed]

50. Well, standing, no- and I do have to admit that it would difficult

to see him lying in a puddle of his own spew behind the podium.

[XemaSab]

101. I dunno about difficult...

I might enjoy that, actually. :D

[Lisa]

121. the only difficult part would be to get my wallet out of my pocket ...

.... fast enough to PAY to see that sight.

I'm with you, XemaSab. (In fact, I'd pay for your ticket too ... my treat!)

[truthisfreedom]

52. "It's a difficult thing to do, which is to kick an addiction."

The telling thing here is that statement... "It's a difficult thing to do, which is to kick an addiction." He was and is an addict. Untreated, it can lead to illegal invasions.


Another note:

Knee-walking drunk? What the fuck is that? Who walks on their knees unless they are praying on the people to put food on their family?

[bdamomma]

67. he must have snuffed up knees, after the years he spent drinking.

[hedgehog]

117. He did have to quit jogging and take up bicycle riding because of his knees.....

[Sugar Smack]

77. BRILLIANT post!

:rofl: :applause:

[Solly Mack]

53. Just drunk on death and destruction these days

[aquart]

54. Clearly, whiskey made a real effort to protect the American people.

Whiskey has not received the credit it deserves.

[and-justice-for-all]

55. Oh he 'kicked it', I had'nt noticed...nt

[Ian David]

57. Liar. We've SEEN him drinking and drunk fairly recently. n/t

[bdamomma]

61. oh, what a arrogant man, he still hasn't received any help

for his addictions. Stupid man. All that alcohol and drugs did damage his mental function, and we are paying the price for it.

[bdamomma]

68. this comment is a lie

"I had too much to drink one night, and the next day I didn't have any," Bush said. "The next day I decided to quit and I haven't had a drink since 1986."



One night George???? how about many nites and many years????????

[pleah]

69. He quit? Really?

[goclark]

71. Hilarious! K and R for all those addicted to anything

Close the Betty Ford Center ~ close AA, do it the Chimp Way!

[Magleetis]

72. Now he

is just addicted to killing people.

[boricua79]

73. we doubt you'd be there

if people actually knew you were an alcoholic loon who snorted coke and went AWOL.

Sadly, that's not common knowledge, and that's how you became President.

[Thor_MN]

75. I haven't had a drink since 1986, but Ah'm coming down with a cold, so Ah gots Nyquil on tap

in tha round room where they's make me sit with muh colorin' books.

That achin', coughin', sneezin', how the hell'd I wake up on the rug medcine's some good shit.

[MetaTrope]

78. Complete quote: 'I Doubt I'd Be Standing Here If I Hadn't Quit Drinking Whiskey Half an Hour Ago'

[Sugar Smack]

79. "Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue."

[Barrett808]

81. Snap!

Beat me to it!

[Sugar Smack]

82. LOL!! Mind-meld.

:pals: :rofl:

[MilesColtrane]

84. "I wasn't a knee-walking drunk"

More of a knuckle -walking drunk.



And he's still one. "hard work...stayin' the course"

[bif]

85. It's a shame you quit, asshole.

The world would certainly be better of if you WEREN'T standing there.

[Doctor_J]

86. There are videos of him falling-down drunk in the 1990's

this is another lie.

[JBoy]

87. Right, he quit cold turkey

Just like Ted Haggard!

[AnneD]

88. "The president said his alcohol problem wasn't severe"....

That wasn't what I heard around the oil patch in Midland /Odessa. He was a 2 fisted drinker that had a reputation of bagging every skank he could. I think dad had a "Come to Jesus" talk with him and straightened him out (maybe threatened to cut him off). Laura was not that kind of girl, she definantly married beneath her status.

He needs KKKarl to help him write his memoirs in something besides crayons. This is a poorly executed (pun intended)attempt to rewrite history.

[defendandprotect]

119. Wait a minute on Laura . . ..

she just happened to have been involved in a questionable car accident which killed
another driver ---

who happened to have been the boyfriend she had had an argument with that day!

This is my memory of the "Laura" story -- please check it on google ---

I don't know about Bush I and "Jesus" . . .
Poppy Bush isn't any innocent, either ---
The entire Bush clan is walking/working fascism ---

[ryanmuegge]

91. Well, it's too bad he "quit," then. If he hadn't, perhaps the world wouldn't have been subjected

to a Cheney (shadow) Presidency. I don't know that Cheney could have gotten close enough to steal Florida with, say, Sam Brownback as a mouthpiece.

[bunny planet]

95. Since you've been standing there Jr., we've all started drinking whiskey.

[Sugar Smack]

126. CLASSIC!!!

:applause:

[alfredo]

96. I don't trust a man who doesn't drink whisky.

[hunter]

97. The man's brain is obviously pickled.

His mom probably started the process before he was born.

Politically it doesn't matter much if he's still drinking, he's not getting any smarter, and the bar is already set so low for him it's in the grass. The guy could just as well trip over his own feet. Only his liver would care if he's drinking, and he probably thinks "No problemo, I'll jis git me a new one..."

The most disgusting thing is, he probably can get a new liver, even if he's drinking.

[lumberjack_jeff]

103. Was he leaning against a bar, one eye closed, poking a finger in her chest to make the points? n/t

[DS1]

104. Damn you Whiskey! You've failed me for the last time!

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

106. Ha!

Only a drink would be familiar with the phrase 'knee walking'......George is back on the sauce and I am sure he's never been within 1000 feet of a 12 step program.

[Nailzberg]

107. Bush: I don't do drugs anymore

...than your average touring funk band.





(joke stolen from Bill Hicks. And unlike Denis Leary, I'll admit it.)

[argyl]

108. His "affection for exercise" was a close second to his family.

Surprised it wasn't first. He thought a moment about family then exercise was mentioned immediately.Narcissistic POS.

[hisownpetard]

155. No, if we're being real here - first was his love of fishing. nt

[kestrel91316]

109. LIAR.

That is all.

[Vinca]

112. I usually root for recovery, but if drinking whiskey would have kept

him out of office, I'd have tried to buy the Jack Daniels distillery for him.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

113. I'm going to sue the Jack Daniels Marketing Department

If they'd done their job right, we wouldn't be in this mess...

[Lost4words]

115. isnt that the truth!

[Lisa]

123. really ... knowing that, if I had a time machine, I would go back ...

... and guarantee his line of credit at the bar. Yes, you heard me right ... I would actually buy George W. Bush drinks. Just to keep him out of office.

Supposedly his faves were beer, bourbon, and "B&B" (Benedictine and brandy, a cocktail invented at a fancy NYC nightclub ... odd choice for the Crawford Cowpoke!)

http://tobyharnden.com/us_archive_doc.htm

[gatlingforme]

125. I CAN ONLY DREAM ON ABOUT THAT THOUGHT>

[LeftishBrit]

127. Suddenly whiskey has gone up in my estimation...

[WritersBlock]

128. Have another drink, George. Several. Please.

In fact, drink your fucking idiotic self comatose.

The nation's much safer that way.

[HughBeaumont]

129. Allow me to present "President" Mengele with a gift:

DRINK UP, ASSVACUUM!

[Lisa]

132. George flatters himself. I live in a country (Canada!) that was put together by a drunk ...

Yeah, no kidding.

http://www.cbc.ca/greatest/top_ten/nominee/macdonald-john.html


And alcoholism isn't the issue here. Sir John A. had more vision, decency, and competence WHEN TIPSY than George W. Bush could ever have, in his so-called "sobriety" (and people wiser than I am, who are undergoing treatment for addiction, have said that by not admitting his problem, Bush is still a "dry drunk" no matter how long it's been since he took a drink).

[humbled_opinion]

133. What no Betty Ford Clinic? .... Well as the church lady used to say...

"Could've been Satan"

[DrDan]

134. wish he could kick the "stupidity problem" as easily . . .

[Lisa]

136. you're right ... if he's drunk, put him to bed and he'll be sober the next day

But in my experience, people who go to sleep stupid tend to wake up the same way.

[superconnected]

135. If he'd only kept drinking whiskey.

[Canuckistanian]

140. Too bad he didn't kick his sadism habit

I don't think most Americans would mind a drunk in the WH (see Ulysses S. Grant) , but an amoral frog-mutilating. draft-avoiding warmonger?

[HCE SuiGeneris]

141. "the blood contained significant amounts of alcohol"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=2466974&mesg_id=2466974:toast:

:beer: :beer: :beer: :beer:

[HCE SuiGeneris]

154. Corrected link to Boozer

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=2466974

[gulliver]

142. "I doubt I'd be standing here if it weren't for my daddy...

...and his pals handing me the presidency...and I quit drinking too of course.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

143. Psst...George...You're SITTING you dumbfuck!

[Dr. Strange]

144. Someone get this man a whisky, stat!

[sofa king]

146. I doubt he'd be standing there if he hadn't started back up.

[xxqqqzme]

147. too bad he didn't take babs along for the 'cure'. I

understand she is THE drinker in the BFEE.

[Critters2]

152. Get that man a drink!!! nt