In a rare candid moment at the White House, President George W. Bush opened up on some of his past struggles with alcohol and drug abuse. The revelations came during a White House meeting to address the “War on Drugs.”
14 leaders in drug prevention, treatment, and interdiction programs across the country were in attendance, including Don Coyhis of Colorado Springs, Colorado, who runs a program targeting Native Americans battling substance abuse. Coyhis, like many others there, is a recovered addict himself. “Congratulations on 30 years of sobriety,” President Bush told him. “I’m eight years behind you.”
President Bush also reported that according to a new study, teen drug abuse has dropped 25 percent since he took office in 2001. Questionable statistic aside (at least if my 17 year-old cousin is any indication), that’s certainly some encouraging progress. And just as much, it’s encouraging progress to hear Bush speaking candidly on something he obviously feels strongly about.
So perhaps if Bush’s legacy is tainted by alarming incompetency and that little scrub-up in the Middle East (and darn, it sure is looking that way), we can still remember him fondly for the little pieces of the compassionate conservatism that he once promised.
