Decision Points, by Pres. George W. Bush: on Drugs

George W. Bush: Only a change on the inside allowed quitting alcohol

"Of course I can," came my indignant response. Then I thought back over the previous week. I went on racking my memory for a single day over the past few weeks; then the past month; then longer. I could not remember one. Drinking had become a habit.

I have a habitual personality. I smoked cigarettes for about nine years. I quit smoking by dipping snuff. I quit that by chewing long-leaf tobacco.

In 1986, after my 40th birthday dinner, I awoke with a mean hangover. I told Laura I would never have another drink. She looked at me like I was still running on alcohol fumes. Then she said, "That's good, George."

I knew what she was thinking. I had talked about quitting before, and nothing had come of it. What she didn't know was that this time I had changed on the inside--and that would enable me to change my behavior forever.

George W. Bush: 1976: DUI resulted in $150 fine & no driving in Maine

A local policeman thought it was odd that I was going about 10 mph and had 2 wheels on the shoulder. When I failed the straight-line walk, he took me to the station. I was guilty and told the authorities so.

I was also embarrassed. I had made a serious mistake. I was fortunate I hadn't done any harm to my passengers, other drivers, or myself I paid a $150 fine and did not drive in Maine for the proscribed period. The case was closed. Or so I thought.

That fall, I started thinking seriously about settling down. The DUI was part of it, but the feeling had been building for months. My rootles ways were getting a little old. So was I. The big 3-0 had come in the summer. I had pledged that I would spend my first ten years after college experiencing a lot and not getting tied down. That was a promise I had kept. But the decade was almost up.

George W. Bush: 1995: Should have disclosed DUI during Texas jury duty

Politically, it would not have been a problem to reveal the DUI that day. The next election was two years away, and I had quit drinking. I decided not to raise the DUI for one reason: my girls. Barbara and Jenna would start driving soon. I worried that disclosing my DUI would undermine the stern lectures I had been giving them about drinking and driving. I didn't want them to say, "Daddy did it and he turned out okay, so we can, too."