What Specific Evidence Do We Have, Really, For GWB's Alcoholism

Factual Questions
1

GWB says he realized his drinking was out of hand on his 40th birthday, and decided to stop, and we’re also told that Laura threatened to leave him.

We know he got a DWI many years ago.

Other than that, do we have any specifics on just how much of an “alcoholic” he was, what “out of hand” means, etc.?

I realize that when a guy describes himself as an alcoholic we generally take him at his word. However, for reasons that are not relevant here (and I don’t want this to become a GD), I am on an anti-Laura Bush kick, and in this mode, I am considering the theory that George wasn’t really a clinical alcoholic at all, but Laura was a nag and threatened to leave him if he didn’t stop going out drinking with his buds – but she couched this nagging in terms of telling him that he was an alcoholic.

Yes, this is a tendentious, unsubstantiated, and possibly-pointless theory. But, the alcoholics I know who have quit have usually offered much more specific and concrete instances of their alcoholic excesses than anything I’ve heard from GWB. “I got fired for drinking on the job.” “I was beating up my kids.” “I kept getting DWIs.” “I had double vision even when I was sober.” “I got into a fight at a family gathering.” The writer Pete Hamill said he quit drinking when he found himself unable to type due to the numbness in his fingers.

Has anyone found any such specific evidence for the existence and extent of GWB’s “alcoholism” (apart from his self-diagnosis and/or acceptance of Laura’s ultimatum)?

2

Well, here’s a link that may be of interest:

http://www.counterpunch.org/wormer1011.html

I know, too, that I’ve seen accounts of him getting a load on and threatening to punch out his father.

Really, though, if you’re interested in a career in politics, and have enough of a drinking problem that you’ve been busted for DWI and your wife has threatened to leave you, you’ve got a drinking problem.

3

It’s not like there’s some kind of medical “test” for diagnosing alcoholism. Clinically, addiction is defined by consequences. It is the continued behavior or use of a substance in spite of negative consequences. Bush fits that definition. He also more or less admits that he had a problem and the fact that he doesn’t drink at all anymore is itself an indication of recovering alcoholism (not an absolute proof, of course, but highly indicative).
Also bear in mind that what we know of the “consequences” is extremely limited. There are probably all kinds of episodes and incidents from W’s drinking days that are not public knowledge but had an adverse effect on his private life.