Well after a presidential race that was far more fun to watch than, say, Dole v. Clinton 1996, Barack Obama, who, after the emergence of Sarah Palin became the sane person’s choice, has emerged victorious and will be sworn in as the 44th president of the United States of America. Given that the economy is in the crapper and he’s taking over from a president with an approval rating hovering slightly above leprosy, it would take a monumental screw-up/opening fire on a troop of boy scouts for Obama to blow this one.
If George W Bush’s term as president proved anything, it’s that teetotalers should not be allowed to hold high political office. Abstaining makes them ornery and self-righteous, while at the same time robs them of the liquid courage needed to do things like, say, tell Dick Cheney to wait in the hall. But the question now is what kind of drinker is Barack Obama, and can he be trusted to stay sufficiently sauced so as to bolster America’s international standing and keep Joe Biden from attacking someone on the commute in. Here then we offer a snapshot of Obama the drinker.
Obama, known as “Barry” in high school, got his substance-abuse career off to a good start. In a speech to high school students late last year, Obama cataloged some of his so-called “bad decisions” during that time. (He went to high school in Hawaai for chrissakes — it would have been a “bad decision” to be a straight-laced nerd). “You know, [I] got into drinking. I experimented with drugs [specifically marijuana with the occasional coke-snort]… There was a whole stretch of time that I didn’t really apply myself a lot.”
Sounds like a great fun guy, right? Well, just remember that George W Bush reportedly once passed out in a bathtub at a Superbowl Party thrown by Hunter S. Thompson. Bush was, to quote Thompson, “a rich, beer-drunk yahoo with a big allowance who passes out in your bathtub.”
Bush was a far more impressive and accomplished partier and substance-abusing slacker than Barack Obama could have ever hoped to be, yet just look how he turned out. Early partying credentials mean little over the long term. What’s more important is how the president-elect works mind-altering substances into his life now. While we suspect he’s no stranger to a bit of after-dinner reefer, that sort of thing just does not play politically, so we’ll have to focus on booze.
Fortunately for America, it seems that Barack Obama, while not the kind of guy whose undershirts will turn yellow from too much boozing, still enjoys the tipple. In March, he made the more impressive showing at a bar of the two Democrat candidates – Hillary did her best, as we blogged here, but really it was one for the road for her. Obama ordered a Yuengling beer – a politician’s choice since it is a popular and locally made Pennsylvania beer.
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