Enquiring Minds Want to Know

The National Enquirer is busting Bush for having fallen off the wagon.

Faced with the biggest crisis of his political life, President Bush has hit the bottle again, The National Enquirer can reveal…

"When the levees broke in New Orleans, it apparently made him reach for a shot," said one insider. "He poured himself a Texas-sized shot of straight whiskey and tossed it back. The First Lady was shocked and shouted: "Stop George!" …

A Washington source said: "The sad fact is that he has been sneaking drinks for weeks now. Laura may have only just caught him — but the word is his drinking has been going on for a while in the capital. He's been in a pressure cooker for months. … And now with the worst domestic crisis in his administration over Katrina, you pray his drinking doesn't go out of control."

Uh, yeah.

Now before you get all snooty about the credibility of The National Enquirer, I’d just like to remind you that particular rag has broken none too few political scandals wide open—including Gary Hart’s tryst with Donna Rice, Jesse Jackson's affair and illegitimate child, Pardongate, and Rush Limbaugh’s drug addiction. As far as political scandals go, they’re usually, well, right.

The timing is interesting, too… Remember it was right at that time that Bush had to be helped up the steps of Air Force One by Laura and was noted as having a “wavering gait” by a reporter at the scene.

Pretty unnerving stuff. I don’t know about you, but I’m fairly uncomfortable with the thought of a belligerent, short-tempered drunk with his finger on the button, you know?

By the way, my favorite part of the story is this:

Another source said: "I'm only surprised to hear that he hadn't taken a shot sooner. Before Katrina, he was at his wit's end…”

He’s down to only one wit? Huh. I guess the booze will do that to ya.

(Via Salon’s War Room.)