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September 01, 2005
The Dry Drunk Meme
Posted by Dana Blankenhorn
There is a long-running charge, or meme, on the left that President George W. Bush is a "dry drunk," an alcoholic who hasn't dealt with the roots of his alcoholism, and thus exhibits alcoholic behavior even when sober.
Dr. Justin Frank explored this in a book called Bush on the Couch. Katherine Van Wormer made the charge in 2002 and Malachy McCourt has gone further, writing in his short 2004 book, Bush Lies in State that he’s still an alcoholic.
How common is this meme? Example one. Example two. Example three. Example four.
So here is my point. Given his falling popularity and recent bizarre behaviors (running away from Cindy Sheehan, comparing Iraq to World War II while New Orleans died) I'm wondering if this meme isn't about to move.
It would certainly be convenient.
Conservatives could easily deflect criticism for the policies they supported by saying the President is mentally ill and it's all his fault. Never mind their continued, and continuing, support for those policies.
That's just politics. It's not personal.
So watch for it. Articles in right-wing blogs questioning the President's stabiity. Learned columns quoting Dr. Frank. Perhaps the discovery of a conservative Dr. Frank. Followed by pressure for the President to resign in favor of Vice President Cheney, "for the good of the country," and an attempt to lay all America's current problems on the immediate past President.
If you start seeing that, you read it here first.
Comments (7)
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Dana Blankenhorn has been a business journalist for over 25 years and has covered the online world professionally since 1985. He founded the "Interactive Age Daily" for CMP Media, and has written for the Chicago Tribune, Advertising Age, and dozens of other publications over the years.
1. Mike Sierra on September 1, 2005 10:50 AM writes...
The quality of your political rhetoric just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?
Permalink to Comment2. Mike Sierra on September 1, 2005 10:58 AM writes...
The quality of political rhetoric just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it? Exactly how is this different from saying Clinton is a letch?
Permalink to Comment3. Mike Sierra on September 1, 2005 11:18 AM writes...
It is not that I'm especially insistent, it's that your server keeps timing out. The first time it happened the original comment did not display following a refresh, so I tried again, and that also seemingly failed. Perhaps your sysadmin is a drunkard.
Permalink to Comment4. Mike Sierra on September 1, 2005 10:28 PM writes...
I don't understand bloggers who feel the need to respond to comments via email, but I do understand my own need to respond publicly. Dana says he was "pretty gentle this time," and that he's only repeating what others are saying. Regardless, it's irresponsible to repeat such unfalsifiable charges of "denial" uncritically. Let's just let it *hang* there, shall we? If liberalism is to be worth a good goddamn any more, its adherents should be eager to banish such superstitious nonsense, not just splutter over the short-term political advantage it may generate.
Aside from that, Dana, your analysis is just plain daft. (I was hoping your earlier take on Katrina was just an aberrent outburst, but apparently not.) You're not just saying that liberals will start trumpeting these charges at any sign of political weakness, but *conservatives* too? Do you honestly envision any scenario in which conservatives might pressure Bush to resign as an incompetent based on this crap?
Permalink to Comment5. Thomas McCay on September 1, 2005 10:57 PM writes...
As I've said a couple or three times in the last few months, Bush has been a fine figure head but he is going to make an even better fall guy.
We've been focused, on this fall guy to be, for so long, it may prove easier than I thought to put it all on his narrow shoulders, while the actual president, Cheney and his cohorts, just keep right on making money and doing damage.
However, one should not think that Bush's many character and personality deficits are responsible for the war, the Patriot Act, or any of the other crimes and scams perpetrated by this administration.
Bush has just been the figure head for the PNAC agenda. You made a very good point. thanks.
Permalink to Comment6. Thomas McCay on September 3, 2005 11:59 AM writes...
Ooops! Sorry for the triple post.
Permalink to Comment7. Dimitar Vesselinov on September 3, 2005 08:01 PM writes...
25 ideas to help:
Permalink to Commenthttp://www.workingpodcast.com/index2.html