"the blood contained significant amounts of alcohol"

[Syrinx]

Our good president has been making his political rounds with pronounced zest in what appears to be a valiant effort to prove he is still relevant. One day he is Bush the Adventurer—the man who blundered into Iraq—talking up the evils of Iran and the possibility of World War III. The next day he is Bush the Abominable No-Man, keeping health care out of the greedy hands of poor kids. These are but two of the horrifying personas of this president. There is also the mortifying “I can’t believe he’s my president” persona. This president is the backslapper, the one who calls himself “the decider,” the fellow who drops his dog on its head. He’s the one who opened the conference of the 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (apec) by thanking Australian prime minister John Howard “for being such a fine host for the opec summit”—opec being the cartel of mostly Middle Eastern oil producers. This president then thanked Howard for the presence of his “Austrian” troops in Iraq and marched confidently offstage in the wrong direction. A few weeks later the same president attended an elementary school in New York in order to crow about higher national test scores. “Childrens do learn!” he proclaimed, creating a Norm Crosby–ish bookend for his infamous “Is our children learning?” anguish of a few years ago.

I wouldn’t want to draw conclusions as to the cause of this recent spate of malapropisms, but a new book by former British foreign secretary Lord Owen may supply a clue. In The Hubris Syndrome: Bush, Blair, and the Intoxication of Power, Owen recalls the time in 2002 when the commander in chief collapsed while sitting on a sofa watching a football game. (Official cause: he’d choked on a pretzel.) The presidential head hit a table on the way to the floor, he suffered an abrasion on the left side of his face, and a blood sample was rushed to Johns Hopkins, in Baltimore. 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.

http://www.vanityfair.com/magazine/2008/01/graydon200801

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. I must say...

I am shocked all to hell and back by this turn of events. Here I was, completely convinced that Our Dear Leader had banashed Demon Rum from his life.

What do we tell the children?

[Mz Pip]

2. We lie

We look to our leader as a role model. We look to him for our cues. What would Bush do?

THere's your answer.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[KnaveRupe]

24. Shocked. Shocked!

Next you'll be telling me that there's Gambling going on in Casablanca.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

30. Psst!

Guess what...;-)

[aggiesal]

41. You're winnings sir! n/t

[Virginian]

59. Round up all the usual Democrats. n/t

[KitchenWitch]

3. It is incredible that he still has legs, what with all the spontaneous pants fires he must have.

:(

[tomreedtoon]

56. But he has a built-in fire extinguisher...

...which he keeps on the ready by drinking a lot of beer.

[Botany]

4. Of course he was drinking

Name all the people you know that have had to go to the E.R. for
a pretzel? You have a "gag reflex" so the idea that a pretzel caused
him to black out is laughable.

BTW I have a friend who runs an alochol & drug clinic in Cleveland
he told me that any client who passed out watching the super bowl
would get a pee & blood test ASAP.

[HowHasItComeToThis]

6. BINGO FOR YOU, REMEMBER THE MEDIA CREATED BUSH IN THEIR IMAGE

SUCH A PATHETIC EXCUSE FOR A HUMAN BEING.

[Orsino]

71. Sure. The most powerful man in the world, who...

...never had to exercise restraint a day in his life, wouldn't take a drink whenever he wanted it? Of course he would. What--is Congress gonna send him a letter about it?

[Mojorabbit]

5. I don't doubt it is true

but I do doubt that anyone told this person something like that. I am sure his medical team is the most closemouthed you will find.

[mopinko]

31. closemouthed and

no way they would be doing unauthorized alcohol tests. i would be shocked.

[Arugula Latte]

36. They know that if they sing like a canary, they sleep with the fishes. nt

[gateley]

7. Next he'll be too drunk to get off Air Force One while visiting another country -

like Yeltsin's Circling Over Shannon trip to Ireland.

[caligirl]

8. Not news but interesting, Alcoholics always lie about drinking period, he

looked like he had been drinking. His eyes were blood shot along with the nose covered in blood vessels and red skin( the typical features notably associated with heavy drinking for a long time and the photos of him with drinks were a good clue.

[sammythecat]

9. Perfectly believable except

I have a hard time believing this kind of information could stay so suppressed for all this time.

The doctor/patient thing would be a hindrance, but if he drank once he likely drank on some kind of regular basis. You'd think there would be some other stories that, at the least, would have created a loud buzz. I don't remember hearing anything other than suspicions and no kind of substantial evidence or even testimony.

Like I said, the story sounds very believable. I believe he very well would, if he could. Seems like it would really be tough to keep something that flammable on ice for so long. That big a secret just seems like it would quickly get unmanageable. Unless he drank just that one time, but that's kind of hard to believe too.

[Raster]

12. This is the most stage-managed man in history, oven more than ronnie the ray-gun.

His medical records--and any evidence they may contain--are considered state secret. Add to the mix a complicit press and PRESTO! no information on the substance use and abuse of one George W. It's not unbelievable at all.

[MissDeeds]

53. Right you are

Take a look at his eyes in any picture. There is something decidedly off. It may be drugs, booze, or mental defect, but his eyes convey the impression that something is not right with the guy.

[JPettus]

57. Oh hell, all you have to do is watch him ride a bike

and wreck them. The main reason he wrecks so often is that he can't balance with all the alcohol in his bloodstream.

[Stephanie]

22. What happens inside the Beltway stays inside the Beltway.

You think the whole town didn't know about Larry Craig, Mark Foley, ? Kool Kids don't tell, not if they still want to be invited to the best parties.

[mogster]

10. From the 2002 breaking news:

"If my mother is listening, mother, I should have listened to you: Always chew your pretzels before you swallow," Bush said jokingly.

Bush lost consciousness for a brief time in the White House on Sunday evening while eating a pretzel and watching a professional football game on television. He fell from his couch and has a scrape and large bruise on his left cheekbone, plus a bruise on his lower lip, to show for his troubles. His glasses cut the side of his face.
http://archives.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/01/14/bush.fainting/

From recently:
"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."
http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/Politics/story?id=3985919&page=1
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=3098623

[madokie]

13. somebody slapped the piss out of him that night

[bluesmail]

47. yeah, bitch slapped

[TwilightGardener]

14. That is the most ridiculous and impossible story--if he was choking, he

could have gotten up and gotten help (most people would, in a panic--they wouldn't just keep sitting alone on the couch) and then he would have passed out elsewhere. And probably died or suffered heart ischemia or brain damage, unless someone found him in time or the "fall" dislodged the pretzel--unlikely. And how do you manage to scrape your face falling off a couch--that's not very far from the floor, from a sitting position. What sort of hard surfaces are nearby that would cause scrapes AND bruises? Isn't there carpeting, as well? Totally implausible. He was hammered, keeled over and hit the deck. End of story.

[theredpen]

16. The story is that swallowing the preztel triggered vasovagal syncope

This is also an incredibly bogus story, but, if you recall, they got an embarrassed-looking doctor to explain it to the press.

I think they should have just said that he got into a fist fight with Saddam Hussein and that we needed to invade immediately. It would have gone over with Bush voters.

[Virginian]

60. Riiight, and Elizabeth I of England was a Virgin.

It is all image.

[intaglio]

11. Just look at the picture

Couch - check

Remote - check

Superbowl - check

Pretzels - check

Now what is missing from the picture? Could it be a six pack?

[hunter]

15. Looking at the man, that would be Forty Ouncers.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ZlsX9CY4L._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_OU01_AA240_SH20_.jpg

"Beer was cheap and life was low"

http://www.amazon.com/Forty-Ouncer-Stories-Kurt-Zapata/dp/0916397467

[MisterP]

62. a hematoma n/t

[live love laugh]

17. How do you drink so much that you collapse on a sofa? That's not normal. n/t

[Ganja Ninja]

18. He was aiming for the sofa and hit the floor instead. n/t

[MiniMe]

19. I don't believe that particular story because they would not have used Johns Hopkins

to send a blood sample to. I think George Washington Hospital Center is the hospital that Cheney uses. And Bush gets his physical at one of the military hospitals in the area.

Do I think he could have been drunk and passed out? Possibly, wouldn't surprise me. But I don't believe they sent a blood sample to Johns Hopkins.

[KamaAina]

20. Unless... they were trying to keep it secret

by sending the blood/booze mixture outside the Beltway with both all of its nosy journalists. :tinfoilhat:

[Stephanie]

21. that's what I've been saying for the past five years.

I don't know how many hangover pictures I have to post of him. It's so obvious.

[orleans]

68. it's scary stephanie. hideous and scary. n/t

[bunkerbuster1]

23. A third-hand story? not much.

While I don't blame people for being skeptical about Chimpy's sobriety, I'm not sure why I should believe this particular story.

[Warren DeMontague]

25. I find it more credible than the "I Choked on a pretzel and fell off the couch" story. nt

[bunkerbuster1]

26. Well, I take it as a GIVEN that anything Chimpy says is suspect.

Figured most of us do.

I really don't know, though, if he's actually stayed sober all these years. I'm willing to entertain the possibility that he has.

"Y'know, I don't really think about it all that much. It's not all that important to me."

[Warren DeMontague]

27. As someone who really HAS been sober for a long time, I can say I've seen some video of him - since

becoming Preznit- where he looks, to me, positively schnackered.

Is it possible he's been sober as long as he says? :shrug: Sure. If so, then, he's managed to be an even worse President sober than Ulysses S. Grant was drunk. Quite the accomplishment.

[bunkerbuster1]

32. I've been sober a long time as well

And maybe I am too predisposed to give him the benefit of the doubt on this one. Dunno.

[Warren DeMontague]

45. Either way, he sucks ass.

I would have far preferred a competent, intelligent drunk to him.

I wish I could find the link; there was a video from the 2006 campaign season, I think, where he was stumping for a candidate and he was DEFINITELY on something.

Either that, or the Korsakoff's is really advanced.

[defendandprotect]

37. Personally, I've few doubts he chugging down whatever he can get ---

the only question I have is .... drugs?

Legal and illegal ---

[donkeyotay]

28. And you know what they call people who lie to cover up for an alcoholic?

Co-dependent. We're a co-dependent nation, not an independent one. We've got people making excuses all over the place so that we can continue to pretend that our president has not repeatedly disgraced the nation. No one will call him on all his bullshit. Presumably, they're protecting the office, but it seems to me the only way to protect the office is to remove bush. Making excuses and covering up for him has been a disaster.

[KamaAina]

33. I was going to say "enablers"

but the possibilities with yours are endless: "The Declaration of Co-dependence"...

[EVDebs]

29. GWB = WTF !

[guruoo]

34. Video of Bush drinking at G8

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

[Lydia Leftcoast]

39. That didn't look any O'Douls

n/t

[quiet.american]

35. Well I'll be swizzled! nt

[defendandprotect]

38. Surprised that Bush lies . . . ??? ???

[quiet.american]

44. Frankly, yes -- surely this report can't be true! Bush lie? Perish the thought!

:)

:sarcasm:

[lonestarnot]

40. What I can't understand is all those people around him who know he's lying just let him.

[defendandprotect]

66. Republicans know he's lying but they believe him, anyway ---

That's a variation on one of the best lines I've ever read at DU --
but I don't remember name of poster!!!

[lovuian]

42. Laura is on the outs with him because of his drinking

oh ya he's been lyin

[Torn_Scorned_Ignored]

43. Now - Get to your Room!

[CreekDog]

64. "I love you man...I can see into your soul man"

[helderheid]

46. Well, well, well.

[Generator]

48. You people are so un-compassionate!

He only had to start drinking again because that damn Iraq war was going so badly. And can you imagine having Cheney down your ass every day for seven years? OH yes, that would drive anyone back to the bottle.

[Lost4words]

70. the pretzel incident was prior to Iraq, small point!

8643

[bluesmail]

49. That's probably one of the many things

they have on him, the blood test, to keep him in line and that's not even working, HA!

[jeff30997]

50. "the blood contained significant amounts of "

I would rather say:"the alcohol contained significant amounts of blood".

[Occam Bandage]

51. So? So does the Holy Blood of Jesus Christ,

drunk by the faithful each Sunday. That's how close to God Bush is.

[CreekDog]

65. Not in a Methodist Church, which Bush is

Dr. Welch invented grape juice to get alcohol out of church.

Churches that teach that it is NOT the blood of Christ in communion only serve grape juice.
(i.e. Baptists, Pentecostals, Methodists (they allow it 'could' be the blood), Presbyterians)

Churches that teach that the blood of Christ is in communion have kept serving wine.
(Catholics, Episcopalians, Lutherans, Orthodox)

Interestin aside.

[AnnieBW]

52. That's what happens

when you soak your pretzels in Everclear.

[Franc_Lee]

54. If Bush can't be trusted to run a country, why would you believe he quit drinking

whiskey? The man's a phony

[whistle]

55. Denial is not a river in Egypt

[Gregorian]

58. One more addition to the Bush Liebrary.

The Bush Liebrary, as opposed to the more traditional presidential repository, would be a vast tomb of information. Almost all of it redacted.

[CreekDog]

67. Considering this admin knows everything that we have read

But have not read a lick of it themselves (obviously)

[MisterP]

61. the main hint was the lab results listed "proof," not "BAC"

[MrsBrady]

63. he's a drunk and a liar, no matter what the "story" is

he's a drunk and a liar, no matter what the "story" is.

He drinks and lies, drinks and lies...all drunks are the same.
All drunk stories are about the same.....just change the names and places, and it's the same story from one drunk to the next.

Let's see if it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, looks like a duck...
then it's probably George Bush or Dick Cheney.

I don't know why people freaking cover for drunks. I never could figure that one out. Sometimes the friend or family member is "afraid" to embarrass the drunk or themselves with what really happened, or worry that people will think badly of the drunk...
Well I don't care if people know the drunk is a drunk. I'm not the one that's a drunk. Why should I be embarrassed?

I could see being embarrassed to work for that idiot, though. LOL
They should have come up with a better story...one that is like, actually believable. Why don't they just say he tripped and fell...would have been easier. Idiots.

[susu369]

69. Sniff

I posted this days ago (the exact same two paragraphs) and only received three responses.

:shrug:

[HCE SuiGeneris]

72. damn discriminatory I tells ya....

it is quite intriguing to see identical posts evolve along very different paths

[susu369]

73. And did you notice

that I am an instant treadkiller as well? One post from me is all it takes.

:hide:

:)

[HCE SuiGeneris]

74. I believe I share that honor with you as well

:banghead:

:pals:

If I get my comment in at position 1 or 2 sometimes some poor schmoe may post behind me not knowing I have already killed the thread... :rofl:

Unfortunately in posting 4th here http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=2477687&mesg_id=2477687 I had already sealed my fate.