The Free Press -- Independent News Media

Fri Mar 19 2010

Departments
National Issues

Is Bush a "Dry Drunk"? This is a Serious, Not Just a Provocative Question
by Michael O'McCarthy
November 19, 2003

In a March 7th Bush Commentary, you note:

"Jack Beatty in the Atlantic Monthly: Beatty suggests ... Bush's apparent belief that God has appointed him to lead a global crusade against evil.

"He writes, 'If this is what Bush believes, if his talk of Armageddon is not just catnip for the religious right, then he is in a fair way to becoming the American Ayatollah.

"'Bush's belief in God is based on his personal narrative of divine salvation as a recovering alcoholic. He once told members of the clergy, 'There is only one reason that I am in the Oval Office and not in a bar. I found faith. I found God.'"

First, I highly suggest that the two previous articles noted in my piece GEORGE W. and ALCOHOLISM as published In Counterpunch be read. Michael O'McCarthy: Bush and Alcoholism (Counterpunch - October 19, 2002)

There is nothing, absolutely nothing to indicate in the lifestyle of George Bush that he is a "recovered" alcoholic. (As indicated above, Bush explicitly implies that he is alcoholic.)

Secondly, recovery means more than that Bush is no longer plagued by the gross symptoms of the disease of alcoholism, i.e., being unable to stop drinking. Nor does it mean simply being relieved of the mental obsession to drink.

Those two effects in the alcoholic can and often are present in what is called "the dry drunk." As indicated in the mentioned articles the "dry drunk" functions upon "self will," or by "willpower" to resist the inherent urge to use alcohol (and other mind altering chemicals), in order to cope with day to day life. What often occurs is that the "dry drunk" finds another obsession.

In some of the more "willful" cases, the dry drunk internalizes a concept of "God's Will" to justify willful behavior. This mental obsession that the alcoholic now is possessed with the knowledge of God's Will allows the unrecovered alcoholic to justify ego driven, highly aggressive attitudes and behaviors in the face of opposition of life on life's terms. Using this God Given mandate, the unrecovered alcoholic is driven by a form of "self will run riot" that becomes not only dangerous to the alcoholic, but to all those the alcoholic affects in the daily course of life.

The obsessive nature of mental component of the disease of alcoholism is well noted. The alcoholic will go to any length to get the drugs they need. Conversely, the alcoholic who does not enter a collective program of recovery, (for example as found in 12 Step Programs), where their attitudes and behaviors are contrasted with, confronted by, or helped by those of other recovering, become more and more convinced of the righteousness of their behavior and only surround their lives with those who support, or enable them. Much like the practicing alcoholic who only associates with those that drink the same or who enable them to drink alcoholically. It is one way of saying: "You are either with me or against me."

President George W. Bush shows every sign of a mental obsession that is rendering him dysfunctional. This obsession that he alone is right in his view of the world is driven by the complex ingredients of egomania and inferiority symptomatic to that found in the medical diagnostic description of the illness of alcoholism.

A simple real world analogy would be to see Bush as the Chairman of the Board of an international corporation whose majority members were opposed to his policies. In like circumstances, should he persist, as he is doing now, he would either be forced to resign or be fired, and/or, the Human Resources department would be called in to require mental health counseling.