George Bush’s Cocaine Parties At Camp David

As much as I dislike our commander-in-chief, I have a hard time believing the tales — emerging from Kitty Kelly’s new profile of the Bush family — of W. doing cocaine at Camp David during his Dad’s administration. But the story reminds me yet again of the free pass that Bush has historically received from the press on the question of his cocaine use, which he has studiously dodged with cute answers like “When I was young and irresponsible I was young and irresponsible.” Now, I’m against the “politics of personal destruction,” and I thought Monicagate was a colossal waste of time. But Clinton wasn’t supporting legislation that threw people into jail if they had affairs with their interns. Bush, on the other hand, has been a strong supporter of the war on drugs for his entire political life. So letting him joke his way out of answering the question is unacceptable. If a politician has actively supported the Drug War, then it’s not the “politics of personal destruction” to ask whether he’s ever served time in the opposing ranks.

I wrote about this issue for FEED after the DUI arrest came out, days before the 2000 election. Sadly, what I wrote then is just as relevant today:

Here are the facts: possession of one to four grams of cocaine — the amount that a semi-regular user with a bank account might keep stashed away in a drawer — is a second-degree felony in the state of Texas. That puts it at the same level as Sexual Assault, Indecency with a Minor, Burglary, etc. George W. Bush supports those punishments, and so presumably he sees inquiries into those other offenses as the “politics of personal destruction” as well. Imagine a press conference transcript that reads: “Q: Have you ever robbed someone’s house?” “A: “When I was young and irresponsible, I was young and irresponsible (wink).” “Q: Have you ever committed sexual indecency with a minor?” “A: Look, the American people know that I made mistakes when I was drinking.”

Would we accept such an exchange? Of course not. Refusing to answer the question of whether you kidnapped in your early years would disqualify you for city councilman, much less the highest office in the land. But that’s precisely what’s happening with Bush’s cocaine stonewall when you think about it in the context of the drug war policies he currently supports.