# Is the Bush White House dry? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 1, 2004, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-bush-white-house-dry/257876 "2004-08-01T22:08:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2004, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-bush-white-house-dry/257876/1 "2004-08-01T22:08:20Z")
With Bush being a drunk and all, is alcohol allowed in the White House? Semi-related, does Laura ever drink? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2004, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-bush-white-house-dry/257876/2 "2004-08-01T22:47:30Z")
Here is the [menu for the state dinner](http://www.whitehouse.gov/statevisit/menu.html) honoring the Polish president on July 18, and it includes Robert Pecota Sauvignon Blanc 2000, Stags Leap Wine Cellars “Fay Vineyard” Cabernet 1998, and Bonny Doon Muscat “Vin Glaciere” 2000. No word on what President Bush and the First Lady drink at the toast. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2004, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-bush-white-house-dry/257876/3 "2004-08-01T22:51:01Z")
Correction, that was July 17, 2002. ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2004, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-bush-white-house-dry/257876/4 "2004-08-01T23:15:39Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > With Bush being a drunk and all, is alcohol allowed in the White House? > > Semi-related, does Laura ever drink? The term is recovering alcoholic. ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2004, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-bush-white-house-dry/257876/5 "2004-08-01T23:24:29Z")
> [@Muad'Dib](#): > > The term is recovering alcoholic. Hey now, no reason to let the politeness and decorum afforded to everyone else get in the way of a dig at President Bush, now is there? ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-bush-white-house-dry/257876/6 "2004-08-02T00:34:01Z")
> [@Muad'Dib](#): > > The term is recovering alcoholic. As my sponsor (he was AA, I was in another 12-step program) put it, once a drunk, always a drunk. Brutal, maybe, but I’ve known a lot of AA folks say it. Some won’t even use the term “recovering alcoholic.” I think it’s harsh to call Bush a drunk, though. Don’t say it until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes. ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-bush-white-house-dry/257876/7 "2004-08-02T00:38:01Z")
I hate to hijack this thread, but what other Presidents have gone dry? I presume the Presidents that served during Prohibition. Any others? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-bush-white-house-dry/257876/8 "2004-08-02T01:00:09Z")
> [@Blalron](#): > > I hate to hijack this thread, but what other Presidents have gone dry? I presume the Presidents that served during Prohibition. Any others? The most famous would be Rutherford B. Hayes. His wife was known as “Lemonade Lucy”. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-bush-white-house-dry/257876/9 "2004-08-02T01:02:05Z")
And if Bush demanded a beer, would he able to get it? I would think the President can get anything he wants, but on the other hand his staff probably has a responsibility to keep him safe, evem from himself. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-bush-white-house-dry/257876/10 "2004-08-02T01:07:13Z")
Is there any proof that Bush doesn’t drink? He said he gave up alcohol when he turned 40. However, many people have doubted his truthfulness when Mr. Bush said he would give up cocaine. Mr. Bush has never admitted that he has been to an AA meeting. In fact, only Ann Richards has been a supporter of Bush when it comes to alcohol issues. Ann Richards has stated her support for George Bush to give up drinking. ---
**Author:** ![Brutus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Brutus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brutus)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-bush-white-house-dry/257876/11 "2004-08-02T01:10:07Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Is there any proof that Bush doesn’t drink? He said he gave up alcohol when he turned 40. However, many people have doubted his truthfulness when Mr. Bush said he would give up cocaine. > > Mr. Bush has never admitted that he has been to an AA meeting. > > In fact, only Ann Richards has been a supporter of Bush when it comes to alcohol issues. Ann Richards has stated her support for George Bush to give up drinking. Is there any proof you don’t kill stray cats and keep bits of them in jars in your basement? The burden of proof is on the person making the accusation; It’s up to you to prove that he is still drinking, not up to others to disprove it. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2004, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-bush-white-house-dry/257876/12 "2004-08-02T01:15:07Z")
**Moderator’s Note:** As my esteemed colleagues in this forum would no doubt say, this question has been asked and answered.