President Bush apparently is drinking again. If he truly did have a drinking problem, as he said he did, then this is the video of a tragic event. It bothers me greatly that the BBC commentator so easily excuses Bush’s absence the next day at G8 meetings on Africa, as being the fault of a “stomach complaint.”

Yeah, I’ve known stomach complaints in the past. Stomach complaints were a pretty normal thing in my life, once upon a time. And you, Mr. President, did not have a stomach complaint.

Relapses are often- too often- a part of recovery from addiction. But they must be met head-on with honesty. If those around the addict make excuses or lie about the addict’s relapse, then they are doing nothing more than enabling the destructive behavior to continue. If President Bush truly was a drunk, and didn’t just say he was in order to garner the AA vote, then he is in far worse trouble than even his already dismal popularity polls indicate.

I’m not talking from theory here. Thirteen years of not drinking did not stop me from fondly hearing that beer being poured (badly, I might add) or wanting very much to drink it. It looked waaay too good, still. But I also know that one beer would lead to two beers, and two beers could easily lead to not stopping at all.

And I (obviously) have too much to say to let that happen..