George W. Bush's DUI Conviction - Join the Press Conference

All over the road
with George W. Bush

His Press Conference,
With Some of the Questions Not Asked
and Some of the Comments Not Made:

BUSH: There's a report out tonight that 24-years ago I was apprehended in Kennebunkport, Maine, for a DUI. That's an accurate story. I'm not proud of that. I oftentimes said that years ago I made some mistakes. I occasionally drank too much and I did on that night.

I was pulled over. I admitted to the policeman that I had been drinking. I paid a fine. And I regret that it happened. But it did. I've learned my lesson.

As I mentioned, I--as many of you know that I quit drinking alcohol in 1986. And it was the right decision for me to make then. I would be glad to answer a few questions.

NEGATIVE SPIN: We wonder what would be the statistical likelihood that a person could drink excessively from the time he was in his early 20s until he was 40 years old, and never ever drive the slightest bit drunk, and then the one single time he did drive drunk, be pulled over by the police. It'd seem like it'd be fairly rare, but maybe a person could just be unlucky and have it happen. A person could be a drunk for 20 years and scrupulously arrange for a designated driver (which wasn't really much of an issue in the '70s) everytime, but then that one time that he makes a mistake, oops, he's pulled over. Does that sound likely? How many times, Mr. Bush, did it happen? You're such a person of "truth."

In just the normal way of speaking, do we say we "learned our lesson" when we only did the wrong thing once? In that case, wouldn't we say we already knew better, but circumstances were such that in this one instance I couldn't get home any other way, etc.? Or do we "learn our lesson" when we've done the wrong thing over and over, and suddenly -- perhaps with an arrest -- we look ourselves in the mirror and say "My God, what have I been doing?"

Probably no way to know for sure, except to depend on people of "truth" to simply state the facts. The way Gov. Bush slammed Mr. Gore for his mild "exaggerations" leads us to assume that Gov. Bush must be a person who will always tell the truth! Do we have to have a conviction and the papers in hand to get the truth? Wouldn't a person of such "truth" just tell the truth?

QUESTION: Why wait until now?

NEGATIVE SPIN: We believe we can answer that question. Because he got caught?

BUSH: Well, it came out now because a TV station in Maine broke the story. But I made the decision that, as a dad, I didn't want my girls doing the kinds of things I did and I told them not to drink and drive. It was a decision I made. I have been very up front with the people of the state of Texas that, you know, that I had been drinking in the past, that I had made mistakes. And the story broke.

NEGATIVE SPIN: Isn't it strange how the Republicans had no such scruple when it came to Chelsea Clinton? They were as proud and as loud as they could be when it was another girl's father who was doing something wrong. And George W. Bush among them. Gov. Bush hasn't been the least bit reticent at reminding us of President Clinton's sins, going over and over how he will bring honor and dignity to the White House, etc. Also, it seems that Vice President Gore has a few children, too. And Gov. Bush hasn't been a bit shy about sharing concerning the supposed scandals that Gore may or may not have been involved in. What about Mr. Gore's poor children having to hear about what their father supposedly did?

So you've been "very up front with the people" of how you "made mistakes"? Why is it that you're not being very specific? Is this part of how you always tell the truth, as opposed to what you say about Gore and Clinton? Leaving out the relevant bits of all these stories of your mistakes is NOT telling the truth.

QUESTION: Why now?

BUSH: I think that's an interesting question, why now, four days before an election.

NEGATIVE SPIN: The man of "truth" obviously thinks the question is "why have they exposed you four days before an election?" Is there ever a poor time for the "truth" to come out. It seems that Gov. Bush has been unwavering in demanding the truth out of Vice President Gore in the last several weeks. Which of these truths might be most relevant to a person's character: 1) My dog's medicines cost as much as mom's; 2) I'm a danger to myself, strangers, loved ones, the whole community because I'm a convicted drunk driver. (?) Does Mr. Gore's supposed exaggeration about his dog's medicine really endanger lives? Does Gov. Bush's holding back the truth about his drunk driving conviction point to something more serious?

QUESTION: Did the girls know before today?

BUSH: No, the girls did not know until tonight. I talked to them.

NEGATIVE SPIN: Those poor sheltered girls. Or should we call them sheltering girls, since Bush hides behind them every chance he gets. Remember when there were the various accusations about cocaine during the primaries. He didn't want to get into specifics because those poor girls shouldn't have to hear about what their Dad "may or may not have done." Well, we're sympathetic to a certain extent, but face it, Pops, when you entered the presidential race, some of these considerations went out the window.

QUESTION: Could you tell us some more about the night that you spent some time in jail? Did you...

BUSH: No, I didn't spend any night in jail there. I did not spend time in jail.

NEGATIVE SPIN: Of course we have no evidence that Bush spent time in jail. But the old radar goes up concerning the way President Clinton parsed his language. "There IS no sexual relation." Bush: "I didn't spend any night in jail THERE. I did not spend time in jail (assuming he means THERE again.)

QUESTION: Governor, do you believe this is relevant to your candidacy in any fashion?

NEGATIVE SPIN: He's going to say "No." !!!! Then why after not having a press conference for 30 days are you out here tonight talking about it, if it's not "relevant to your candidacy IN ANY FASHION"? Look, maybe you don't think it's relevant. But when you made CHARACTER your number one issue, this kind of thing is extremely relevant. When you layed into Vice President Gore for every offense you could imagine, and recited the litany of President Clinton's character issues, you made it relevant. Everything you do as President would be relevant. The Republicans seemed to think it was extremely relevant in 1992, all the things that Bill Clinton did or was accused of doing. Why the sudden shift? Couldn't be hypocrisy from someone so principled and so concerned with the "truth"?

BUSH: No, I think the people knew that I had been straightforward, that I had made mistakes in the past. This happened 24 years ago. I do find it interesting that it's come out four or five days before the election. But I have been straightforward with the people, saying that I used to drink too much in the past. I'm straightforward with people saying that I don't drink now.

NEGATIVE SPIN: Everyone has made mistakes in the past. Mistakes that are made are necessarily "in the past." That doesn't mean the mistakes should never be considered. The simple fact that you covered up this "mistake" all this time indicates that you WEREN'T straightforward. The fact that you have an excuse for covering it up doesn't make it any better. Yes, it is "interesting that it's come out four or five days before the election." But whose fault is that? Wouldn't that be YOUR fault? Is everything everyone else does THEIR fault, but nothing is ever YOUR fault? Doesn't the BUCK ever stop with you? Who should we pass it to next since YOU are never to blame?

QUESTION: But were you completely truthful, Governor...

BUSH: Yes.

QUESTION: ... all the times that you were asked...

BUSH: Yes, I was.

QUESTION: ... asked whether...

BUSH: Yes, I was. I was.

NEGATIVE SPIN: Is it OK to ask the question before you answer? Or is this a way (a la Clinton) to have wiggle room later on when answers turn out to SEEM less than true?

QUESTION: Is there anything else--is there anything else...

QUESTION: How did you think you could get away with anything?

BUSH: I'm not trying to get away with anything.

NEGATIVE SPIN: Yeah, not much. Let us just back up and speculate... Hmm, if this report had not come out when it did... and let's just say the election came and went... what's the chances that you would have volunteered the information? And there's that great Clinton language parsing again: "I'm not trying to get away with anything?" Meaning, I'm not ... NOW. But WERE you trying to get away with this? Since you didn't volunteer the information, it would appear so. You think you're so much more honest than Clinton, that you have so much greater integrity than Al Gore. Guess what? That's something else you've lied about.

QUESTION: Why didn't you come with this out sooner?

BUSH: I just explained why. I wanted to make--I didn't wanted to talk about this in front in my daughters. I've told my daughters they shouldn't be drinking and driving. It's the decision I made.

NEGATIVE SPIN: Hide behind those poor daughters of yours again. But at least you're consistent. We KNOW (based on your "true" word) that it could have absolutely NOTHING to do with political consequences or considerations. You're so far above all those kinds of considerations. It's all to protect your family, never to protect yourself and your political interests. Again we ask: Where were your scruples when it came to Chelsea? Where were your scruples when it came to Al Gore's children? Don't they deserve any consideration when it comes to their fathers?

(CROSSTALK)

BUSH: I have been very candid about my past. I've said I've made mistakes in the past. People know that. They've thought about that. They're making their minds up now. And they've seen me as the governor of the state of Texas. I've upheld the honor and integrity of my office. And it's a regrettable incident that I find interesting that four or five days before the election, is coming to the surface.

NEGATIVE SPIN: Yes, you're just sorry you got caught. You are guilty of the same kind of political shenanighans that you've lambasted others for. And you say it "is coming to the surface," the very thing that earlier you say you weren't trying to "get away with."

BUSH: And the only thing I can tell you is is that I told the people in my state I used to drink. I quit drinking. I'm not going to drink and I haven't had a drink in 14 years.

NEGATIVE SPIN: So people are just never responsible for the mistakes they made in the past? You should have the slate wiped clean, but nobody else should? All the people you've executed...where's their clean slate? You said to "LEO" in the 3rd debate that people needed to be responsible and be held accountable for their actions. Presumably most (all) of those actions happened in "the past." If a person commited a whole passel of crimes "in the past", don't you still hold them accountable?

QUESTION: Is there anything else that you might be embarrassed about, Governor?

BUSH: Pardon me.

QUESTION: Is there any action that you or your family took after that night?

BUSH: No, there's not. I mean, none.

NEGATIVE SPIN: Famous last words. Didn't he say he made MISTAKES? The word MISTAKES is plural. But now there is "none". He got pulled over, learned his lesson, lived happily ever after, never having done one more thing wrong. He didn't quit drinking till he was 40, but in all that time, never once did he ever do anything wrong ever again that he "might" be embarrassed about. Pretty good record there, Gov. Bush. You really ARE a guy of sterling integrity, since we know we can take you at your WORD. You would never LIE, or try to "get away with anything." We'll just set aside the pattern here that you never 'fess up to ANYTHING unless you get caught. Which seems kind of like the same pattern of those you have so vehemently criticized, the political opponents whose CHILDREN you had no scruple whatsoever for sparing them EMBARASSMENT.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

BUSH: No, none at all. None whatsoever. As a matter of fact, I, you know, I tried--I mean, I--listen, I told the guy I had been drinking and what do I need to do? And he said, ``Here's the fine.'' I paid the fine and did my duty.

NEGATIVE SPIN: A fine is not doing your "duty." A fine is the penalty for the crime. When you execute a criminal for doing a crime, is the criminal doing his "duty"? The explanation sounds a bit shaky here. Strange how "cut and dry" this case is, nothing to it. Kind of strange that the officer would remember the details of the case 24 years later, since it was so routine.

QUESTION: Do you recall what you were doing that night that led you to (inaudible)?

BUSH: I was drinking beer, yes, with John Newcombe.

QUESTION: How much did you have?

BUSH: How many beers?

QUESTION: Yes.

BUSH: Enough to have been in violation of the law. I can't remember how many beers. It was 24 years ago.

NEGATIVE SPIN: Oh, it was so long ago. I'm not responsible for things that happened in the past! It was 23 years ago last year...the story's getting older all the time, but it's new to US, since you chose to hide it.

And that's the interesting thing about this. Here we are with four days to go in the campaign and we're discussing something that happened 24 years ago.

NEGATIVE SPIN: Again, whose fault is that?

QUESTION: Governor, was there any legal proceeding of any kind? Or did you just...

BUSH: No. I pled--you know, I said I was wrong and I...

NEGATIVE SPIN: No controlling legal authority there?

QUESTION: In court?

BUSH: No, there was no court. I went to the police station. I said, ``I'm wrong.''

QUESTION: So you just had a (inaudible).

BUSH: Yes.

QUESTION: For the same night.

BUSH: Yes, I did.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

NEGATIVE SPIN: Was this the regular procedure, or a matter of privilege for a well-connected son?

BUSH: No. I admitted I was wrong. And...

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

BUSH: My father, as I recall, he wasn't very happy about it. But...

QUESTION: Governor, are there any more mistakes of this kind or similar awaiting to be discovered?

BUSH: No.

NEGATIVE SPIN: He said mistakeS. That's a plural word, you know. And the word "similar" is kind of a toughie to parse your way out of Mr. Clinton, er, we mean Mr. Bush. You didn't do anything else wrong in all those years? That whole cocaine mess from last year, just simply nothing to it whatsoever... Didn't do one single solitary other thing wrong in all that time!?

QUESTION: Governor, you're running for the highest office in the land, don't you think the people have got a right to know this about you?

BUSH: I told the people I'd made mistakes in the past.

NEGATIVE SPIN: Hmm, it SEEMS like Gore said concerning fund raising and the whole Buddhist temple thing, "I made mistakes." It makes us wonder WHY then has Gov. Bush repeatedly brought these things up. Hmm, that is so odd. Couldn't be any hypocrisy there, could there? Nahhhhh, not from a person of such integrity and truth. Hahahah.

QUESTION: But this specifically.

BUSH: I told people I'd made mistakes in the past. And this was a mistake I'd made in the past. I also--please. I also told the people in that in the past I had drunk too much at times. And this was the case.

And as I mentioned to you, I'm a dad. I was trying to teach my children right from wrong. I chose the course that, to my daughters, I was going to tell them they shouldn't drive and drink. And that's the course of action I took.

NEGATIVE SPIN: There's the poor daughters again. Imagine all this time, they've been under the illusion their Dad was perfect. Kind of strange he didn't think of that with Chelsea or Al Gore's precious, NOW disillusioned children. Seems like Bush has been throwing a sufficient amount of MUD at other children's fathers. But his own innocent little lambs, they should be spared the gruesome mess. Just set aside the subtle fact that he's running for PRESIDENT OF THE WHOLE UNITED STATES. None of us can know about HIS character -- Millions and Millions of Us -- because his daughters might discover he's not perfect. Of course this is the truth, since he would never ever lie, not in a million years.

And I'm the first to say that what I did was wrong and I've corrected that. And I think the people of America will understand that. I think the interesting thing is that why five days before an election, all of a sudden it pops...

NEGATIVE SPIN: When SHOULD we have known about it? Maybe last year? But you chose not to tell us. We should know that a potential President is out on the road threatening to kill himself and others by driving drunk. It says something about your character. And even though you don't drink and drive now, others DO. How can you really have the moral authority to judge others when you do the same things yourself and don't admit or own up to them except when CAUGHT. You weren't trying to "get away with anything," except no matter what it is, you're hiding out in your bus or on your plane behind your staff, hoping against hope that nobody will ever dig up any of this. You tell the truth all the time, especially when you have no choice. You see the "exaggeration" in every trivial comment of Vice President Gore, but you don't see your own larger exaggerations...

QUESTION: Why do you think it (OFF-MIKE)

BUSH: That's your job. I got my suspicions.

Thank you all.

I've got my suspicions.

NEGATIVE SPIN: So you end up by blaming the messenger. We're all wrong for wanting to know the details of a person who would be the President of the United States. God knows, YOU weren't going to tell us. You're really good at judging Mr. Gore and Mr. Clinton. Take a look in the mirror, W.... There's one person you haven't judged yet. And we have our "suspicions" you won't.

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E-Mail: tom@hauntedbookstore.com

11-3-2000