Nat'l Enquirer Reports Katrina Drove Bush to Drink

The National Enquirer reports that when George W. Bush heard the news of the levees breaking in New Orleans, he responded by turning to drink:

BUSH'S BOOZE CRISIS

By JENNIFER LUCE and DON GENTILE

Faced with the biggest crisis of his political life, President Bush has hit the bottle again, The National Enquirer can reveal.

Bush, who said he quit drinking the morning after his 40th birthday, has started boozing amid the Katrina catastrophe.

Family sources have told how the 59-year-old president was caught by First Lady Laura downing a shot of booze at their family ranch in Crawford, Texas, when he learned of the hurricane disaster.

His worried wife yelled at him: "Stop, George."

Following the shocking incident, disclosed here for the first time, Laura privately warned her husband against "falling off the wagon" and vowed to travel with him more often so that she can keep an eye on Dubya, the sources add.

"When the levees broke in New Orleans, it apparently made him reach for a shot," said one insider. "He poured himself a Texas-sized shot of straight whiskey and tossed it back. The First Lady was shocked and shouted: "Stop George!"

The story goes on to quote a "Washington source" who claims that Bush "has been sneaking drinks for weeks."

It's easy to sneer at the Enquirer, but their legal department is pretty sharp. I take this story a lot more seriously than, say, the report last year in the notoriously flaky Capitol Hill Blue that Bush is strung out on antidepressants. Heck, reporters for the Enquirer are more likely to understand how to source a story than top-flight reporters for the New York Times like, say, Judith Miller.

(via commenter sean on Eschaton)