Omnivore - He’s not drunk, he just acts that way

Since the current issue of CL is devoted to beer, it seems proper that we mention that the Internets have been abuzz with gossip about President Bush falling off the wagon and guzzling beer with Angela Merkel at the G8 summit last week. The gossip was further inflamed when Bush, a recovering alcoholic, called in sick the next day, prompting many bloggers to guess he was suffering a hangover.

As it turns out, Bush was drinking a so-called near-beer called Buckler. Drinking such stuff is controversial among recovering alcoholics. They argue it can precipitate a relapse into swilling the real stuff. Maybe, maybe not. But it’s indicative of how desperate Americans are to find some explanation, any explanation, for the bizarre denial of reality that has come to characterize Bush.

Of course, many have long characterized him as a “dry drunk” — an alcoholic who retains all the mental and behavioral pathology of a drunk short of actually imbibing. Arguably, a dry drunk can cause more harm than a wet drunk, who is usually fairly passive as long as he’s sloshed.