Drinking Buddies?
Pegedwende Kinda
Issue date: 4/29/09 Section: Variety
George W, Bush drunk…His best friend, Nicolas Sarkozy, could not but follow
George W. Bush's relationship with alcohol began when he was still a teenager. To recall some events of this period: in 1966, when he was 20 years old, he was arrested for disorderly conduct after he and some friends had "a few beers" and stole a Christmas wreath from a hotel. On September 4, 1976, at 30 years old, George W. Bush was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol near his family's summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine. He admitted his guilt, was fined $150 and had his driving license in the state suspended for two years, although the White House had claimed 30 days. Later on, during the 2000 presidential campaign, Bush was quoted saying that he quit drinking in 1986 and never had a drop since that time.
However he was seen drinking on June 7, 2007 and June 12, 2008.
It is universally known that friends tend to have the same behaviorisms; it is therefore not surprising to hear that Nicolas Sarkozy was drunk during the G8 Summit. We have to precise here that Sarkozy, during his campaign, said, many times, that drinking goes against his lifestyle and that he never drinks alcohol. In order to explain his odd performance, Sarkozy said he was out of breath since he was rushing to the conference being late; however, being out of breath does not explain why he was slurring his speech, laughing and shrugging while he was asking reporters to question him. Such behavior is scary all the more when we know that he has the outlook of an entire country in his hands.
Nicolas Sarkozy is not done disappointing the French. There is less and less hope of seeing him change and behave responsibly. It would be good to have him understand at first that: "Widespread intellectual and moral docility may be convenient for leaders in the short term but it is suicidal for nations in the long term. One of the criteria for national leadership should therefore be a talent for understanding, encouraging, and making constructive use of vigorous criticism" Carl Sagan.
George W. Bush's relationship with alcohol began when he was still a teenager. To recall some events of this period: in 1966, when he was 20 years old, he was arrested for disorderly conduct after he and some friends had "a few beers" and stole a Christmas wreath from a hotel. On September 4, 1976, at 30 years old, George W. Bush was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol near his family's summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine. He admitted his guilt, was fined $150 and had his driving license in the state suspended for two years, although the White House had claimed 30 days. Later on, during the 2000 presidential campaign, Bush was quoted saying that he quit drinking in 1986 and never had a drop since that time.
However he was seen drinking on June 7, 2007 and June 12, 2008.
It is universally known that friends tend to have the same behaviorisms; it is therefore not surprising to hear that Nicolas Sarkozy was drunk during the G8 Summit. We have to precise here that Sarkozy, during his campaign, said, many times, that drinking goes against his lifestyle and that he never drinks alcohol. In order to explain his odd performance, Sarkozy said he was out of breath since he was rushing to the conference being late; however, being out of breath does not explain why he was slurring his speech, laughing and shrugging while he was asking reporters to question him. Such behavior is scary all the more when we know that he has the outlook of an entire country in his hands.
Nicolas Sarkozy is not done disappointing the French. There is less and less hope of seeing him change and behave responsibly. It would be good to have him understand at first that: "Widespread intellectual and moral docility may be convenient for leaders in the short term but it is suicidal for nations in the long term. One of the criteria for national leadership should therefore be a talent for understanding, encouraging, and making constructive use of vigorous criticism" Carl Sagan.
Be the first to comment on this story