stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote in message news:<b8vt60hkgml99j1qd76frjvitas2iv6ptq@4ax.com>...

On 2 Apr 2004 19:41:03 -0800,

Whether GWB is clinically an alcoholic, however recovering, is
pure speculation. Any such diagnosis done by a professional
counselor who hasn't actually interviewed the "patient" is
bound to be contrary to canons of ethics.

stoney <stoney@the.net> wrote in message news:<5ugr601uejoso7kbcst2nd65g1kfp7fjuv@4ax.com>...

The article doesn't indicate a professional diagnosis. It states based
on; Bush's stated history, speeches, written quotes, as well as
comparisons with clinical observation such a speculative conclusion.
There is a difference.

If you notice, via the replies, no one is taking the article as an
actual diagnosis. Instead, people are having fun with it-myself
included.

Alan Bisbort, who wrote the original article, doesn't seem to
be a professional psychologist or the like, but a mere journalist.
He apparently had a brother who drank himself to death.
Van Wormer (shades of Animal House) is a Phd. in social work,
who is responsible for a program in substance abuse at
the University of Northern Iowa. She's the one I'm pointing a
finger at. That a leftist journo who writes for Mother Jones
wants to pin the "alcoholic" label on his political opponent
doesn't surprise. Someone such as Prof. van Wormer ought to
be more reticent.

Bush admits to abusing booze in his younger days. What seems
to bother some in the recovery movement is that he didn't stop
drinking by joining one of their programs. He claims that he
had a spiritual awakening, under Billy Graham, no less, and his
involvement in his church probably served a similar function as
going to AA meetings does for some, but he didn't follow the
official 12-steps in an official program, so he can't really
have dealt with his problems. By AA logic, someone who quits
drinking some other way than theirs is in great danger of
slipping back to the bottle.

On alt.atheism I would expect a little skepticism about the AA
model. If I ever thought I needed to quit drinking and wanted
a support group, the Secular Organization for Sobriety would be
more to my liking. I have also known young hell-raisers who
have been convinced - or forced by a court - to seek AODA
counseling and straightened themselves out, either by quitting
drinking or learning to be moderate in their alcohol use.
The crypto-religion of AA isn't the only way to go.