# Secret Service and a plotzed prez **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [December 4, 2009, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-and-a-plotzed-prez/519978 "2009-12-04T13:21:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-and-a-plotzed-prez/519978/1 "2009-12-04T13:21:09Z")
[This column](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2910/is-the-secret-service-responsible-for-keeping-the-president-from-getting-drunk) is well-researched, well-written, and an outstanding addition to the annals of SDSAB lore. Three cheers for **Elendil’s Heir**. ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_Next\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@Girl\_Next\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_Next_Door)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-and-a-plotzed-prez/519978/2 "2009-12-04T18:00:03Z")
Agreed. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-and-a-plotzed-prez/519978/3 "2009-12-04T20:49:58Z")
Nice column. But…_plozted_? Never heard that one. I did have a friend who often said, “If my mother hears about this, she will plotz.” I never for one minute thought she meant “get drunk.” Plastered? Plowed? ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-and-a-plotzed-prez/519978/4 "2009-12-04T21:07:48Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > Nice column. But…_plozted_? Never heard that one. I did have a friend who often said, “If my mother hears about this, she will plotz.” I never for one minute thought she meant “get drunk.” > > Plastered? Plowed? Probably a typo for _plotzed_, which, as [Urban Dictionary](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=plotzed) tells us, as well as being Yiddish slang for a bowel movement, means intoxicated. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2009, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-and-a-plotzed-prez/519978/5 "2009-12-04T23:25:00Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > Nice column. But…_plozted_? Never heard that one. I did have a friend who often said, “If my mother hears about this, she will plotz.” I never for one minute thought she meant “get drunk.” > > Plastered? Plowed? Plotz = shit, plotzed = drunk. Your friend was using the first one. It means flip out, hit the roof, shit a brick, etc. **Bricker** is using the drunk definition. [I’ve fixed the typo in the title.] And yes, that’s an outstanding column by **Elendil’s Heir**. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2009, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-and-a-plotzed-prez/519978/6 "2009-12-05T15:18:38Z")
“Plotz” can also mean “be astonished by,” as in the line in the Woody Allen movie _What’s Up, Tiger Lily?_, where they talk of a recipe for an egg salad sandwich so good you could plotz. ---
**Author:** ![AppallingGael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9bd4f/32.png) [@AppallingGael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AppallingGael)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2009, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-and-a-plotzed-prez/519978/7 "2009-12-05T21:31:01Z")
“Plozted” is just a posh way of pronouncing “plastered”. Eh, wasn’t worth posting. Too late now. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2009, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-and-a-plotzed-prez/519978/8 "2009-12-05T22:05:33Z")
If you’re claiming that it comes from a mispronunciation of “plastered,” you’re wrong. “Plotz” is an unrelated Yiddish word. ---
**Author:** ![SoulFrost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@SoulFrost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoulFrost)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2009, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-and-a-plotzed-prez/519978/9 "2009-12-05T23:30:00Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > Probably a typo for _plotzed_, which, as [Urban Dictionary](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=plotzed) tells us, as well as being Yiddish slang for a bowel movement, means intoxicated. Ah… shitfaced! ---
**Author:** ![palindromemordnilap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/db5fbb/32.png) [@palindromemordnilap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/palindromemordnilap)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-and-a-plotzed-prez/519978/10 "2009-12-08T16:28:52Z")
Not to sidetrack this scintillating etymological exchange, but I dropped in with a Secret Service related comment / question: When GWB first learned of the 9/11 attacks he was, as we all know, at a public school, presumably not located in a bomb shelter. His schedule was a matter of public record. Why did the Secret Service not immediately move him to a safe place? ---
**Author:** ![qazwart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/5fc32e/32.png) [@qazwart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qazwart)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-and-a-plotzed-prez/519978/11 "2009-12-08T17:11:38Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > [This column](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2910/is-the-secret-service-responsible-for-keeping-the-president-from-getting-drunk) is well-researched, well-written, and an outstanding addition to the annals of SDSAB lore. Three cheers for **Elendil’s Heir**. It was an excellent column. Besides not preventing the President from getting drunk, under President Clinton, it also didn’t prevent the President from getting himself into other trouble either. In fact, one of the big debates is whether the Secret Service staff could be subpoenaed to testify against the President. The Supreme Court said _yes_ which was the last in a series of rather questionable decisions that will probably be over turned in later years. The first in the list of questionable opinions is whether the President can be civilly sued while President. The Clintons argued no, that a such a suit would have to wait until Clinton was no longer president. The Supreme Court in Clinton v. Jones said “yes”. Breyer argued that Clinton’s claim of immunity would only exist if Clinton could show that a private civil lawsuit would somehow interfere with the his abilities to act as President in his constitutionally-assigned duties. If we only had the clear vision of hindsight back then. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-and-a-plotzed-prez/519978/12 "2009-12-08T17:15:06Z")
Now I have conversation with the drunk Premier Kissoff from _Dr. Strangelove_ stuck in my head… ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-and-a-plotzed-prez/519978/13 "2009-12-08T18:00:19Z")
“I’m calling about the bomb, Dmitri… the bomb, Dmitri… the _hydrogen_ bomb…” Thanks, everyone, for your feedback. **palindromemordnilap** , IIRC, the Secret Service concluded that the President was not in immediate danger and didn’t whisk him from the classroom. Bush later told the 9/11 Commission that he didn’t want to scare the schoolkids anyway, which some (such as Michael Moore) regarded a bit skeptically. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-and-a-plotzed-prez/519978/14 "2009-12-08T20:33:36Z")
I’ve wondered how/where the President could get liquor. He can’t exactly slip out the back door and walk to the nearest liquor store. Supposedly, the President doesn’t carry a wallet or money anyway. Ford’s wife Betty had a drinking problem while he was president. She’s discussed it openly and opened the Betty Ford Clinic. I always wondered why the white house staff didn’t lock up the liquor stock in a cabinet. Isn’t Grant considered the most notorious alcoholic president? I recall many history stories about his presidency being the most corrupt ever. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-and-a-plotzed-prez/519978/15 "2009-12-08T20:50:00Z")
> [@palindromemordnilap](#): > > When GWB first learned of the 9/11 attacks he was, as we all know, at a public school, presumably not located in a bomb shelter. His schedule was a matter of public record. Why did the Secret Service not immediately move him to a safe place? Because he was only on page 8 of _My Pet Goat_ and insisted on sticking around to find out how it ended. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2009, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-and-a-plotzed-prez/519978/16 "2009-12-08T21:34:51Z")
The initial draft of the report alluded to several other White House occupants’ alcohol issues, including Pat Nixon’s drinking, the Bush twins’ underage-drinking citations, and (God help us) Billy Beer. Some Presidents carry a wallet and cash; others don’t. There’s no rule about it. He could always ask a staff member to buy booze for him. (Christopher Buckley’s comic novel _The White House Mess_ has the stressed-out President bumming cigarettes from his military aides, and threatening to assign one to duty in Greenland if he tells the First Lady). The historical record is a bit cloudy on Grant’s drinking. He pretty clearly had a recurring problem early in his military career, and he may have slipped once or twice during the Civil War, but I’ve never read that he drank to excess as President. The corruption of his administration was all by his cronies, not by him personally, although he was trusting to a fault and certainly failed to vet appointments carefully or to demand a high standard of conduct. ---
**Author:** ![kidneyfailure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9f8e36/32.png) [@kidneyfailure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidneyfailure)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-and-a-plotzed-prez/519978/17 "2009-12-09T01:41:06Z")
_Kissinger: Can we tell them no? When I talked to the President, he was loaded._ Great line. Even greater when you try to say it out loud in Kissinger’s voice. ---
**Author:** ![qazwart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/5fc32e/32.png) [@qazwart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qazwart)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-and-a-plotzed-prez/519978/18 "2009-12-09T07:02:45Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Isn’t Grant considered the most notorious alcoholic president? Rumors of Grant’s drinking problems occurred during the Civil war. When one staffer told President Lincoln that Grant was a drunkard, Lincoln replied “find out what brand of whiskey Grant drinks,because I want to send a barrel of itto each one of my generals.” ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-and-a-plotzed-prez/519978/19 "2009-12-09T18:48:37Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’ve wondered how/where the President could get liquor. He can’t exactly slip out the back door and walk to the nearest liquor store. Supposedly, the President doesn’t carry a wallet or money anyway. The same way the Gipper got jelly beans? He told a staff member in charge of such things “I want there to be a full jar of jelly beans on my desk at all times.” If he tells the staff he wants to have beer around, there will be beer around, or firings will occur. It’s not like liquor is crack or anything. ---
**Author:** ![palindromemordnilap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/db5fbb/32.png) [@palindromemordnilap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/palindromemordnilap)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-and-a-plotzed-prez/519978/20 "2009-12-09T19:34:20Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > **palindromemordnilap** , IIRC, the Secret Service concluded that the President was not in immediate danger and didn’t whisk him from the classroom. Bush later told the 9/11 Commission that he didn’t want to scare the schoolkids anyway, which some (such as Michael Moore) regarded a bit skeptically. Thanks. I guess my question is how the SS could have concluded he wasn’t in danger. They knew there were coordinated attacks on U.S. soil occurring by hijacked commercial planes, some of which were still in the air. Bush’s appearance at the school was announced in advance. Newspaper accounts have suggested (perhaps incorrectly) there were local threats against Bush that day on the ground, and the SS was concerned enough about Air Force One to change its flight course, apparently over Bush’s objections. SS later told the 9/11 Commission they were “anxious to move the president to a safer location, but did not think it imperative for him to run out the door.” the Commission report does not dig deeper into the reason why not. Experts agree that this normally would have been an extremely high priority. Bush stayed in the classroom for several minutes after being informed of the second attack, and then met with his staff in another room to develop a statement (although no statement was delivered at this time), THEN made a speech about education to the students as pre-planned. He left for the airport about a half-hour after the SS became aware of the second attack. Moore’s movie used this lag as evidence of GWB’s lack of leadership, and some 9/11 Truthers view it as evidence of Bush’s foreknowledge of the attacks. Those claims are beside my point: The SS in any sane world would have insisted on getting Bush out of there quickly if not immediately. Yes, he can overrule them, but there is no evidence that a strenuous effort was made to convince him. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/secret-service-and-a-plotzed-prez/519978.md?page=2)