For Bush Daughters, (Night) Life Isn't Fair

June 29, 2002 9:52 AM

For Bush Daughters, (Night) Life Isn't Fair My interest in this article is that it has been kept out of the papers I usually read daily and has not been on TV.
posted by Postroad (32 comments total)

As much as I'd like to nail Bush with something embarrassing, and as much as alcohol plays a part in Bush's history, who really cares about two 20 year olds having a beer? It's not like they're getting special drinking privileges as the children of the POTUS. I'd say the press is being sane for not making a big deal out of this. Who cares?
posted by thebigpoop at 10:12 AM on June 29, 2002

who cares?
posted by PugAchev at 11:17 AM on June 29, 2002

I'd say the press is being sane for not making a big deal out of this.

I guess newspaper editors feel if they gave this too much coverage they might come under fire, with the post September 11th emphasis on covering "serious news", plus Bush's high aproval rating would make personal attacks unpopular. Personally I'm glad the Bush twins are getting less coverage.
posted by bobo123 at 11:18 AM on June 29, 2002

If they crash a car while drunk then I'm sure it'll be reported. Doubly so if they pull a Laura Bush and someone is killed. But these are murky reports that they may have had a beer. Big deal.
posted by jragon at 11:21 AM on June 29, 2002

My interest in this article is that it has been kept out of the papers I usually read daily and has not been on TV.


Thats because it's not realy a big deal.
posted by delmoi at 11:38 AM on June 29, 2002

oooh. they had a budweiser. oooh. they smoked some camel lights. oooh. they played pool. oooh.

they are 20 years old. this is not news.
posted by grabbingsand at 11:39 AM on June 29, 2002

Two 20 year old girls had a beer.
In other news, Dinosaurs are extinct, and Carrot Top has been found to be intensely annoying to 99% of the population.
posted by bradth27 at 11:40 AM on June 29, 2002

show of hands...who had beer while under the legal age??
(my hand is up)
posted by RunsWithBandageScissors at 12:05 PM on June 29, 2002

Both hands up.
posted by bradth27 at 12:11 PM on June 29, 2002

Show of hands... who would complain about liberal bias in the media if this story was spiked for Chelsea Clinton while Bill was in office?
posted by jonnyp at 12:11 PM on June 29, 2002

Show of hands ... who can see other peoples hands up when you call for a show of hands on an internet message board?
posted by crunchland at 12:31 PM on June 29, 2002

nobody seems to be moved into taking action against bush's mistakes, so why should they with his daughters'?
posted by mcsweetie at 1:15 PM on June 29, 2002

who can see other peoples hands up when you call for a show of hands on an internet message board?

So you people aren't offended when I expose myself? This place is a dream come true.
posted by yerfatma at 2:23 PM on June 29, 2002

Well, I am Yert, but that's only because I have second sight...and that mole thing is weird looking. ;)
posted by dejah420 at 2:51 PM on June 29, 2002

"who really cares about two 20 year olds having a beer?"

I care about the hypocrisy and double standards. When I was in high school that's when they upped the drinking age from 18 to 21. I had a friend who was officially legal for three days, cuz he turned 18 three days before they changed the age to 21. It was absurd. And it's absurd to not allow any 20 year old the right to drink in public. The fact Bush's own daughters do it simply brings rise to the fact that the age change needs to be repealed. It's a stupid law.
posted by ZachsMind at 4:14 PM on June 29, 2002

The law's stupid, it goes without saying. And while it's tempting to throw around comments about where the apples fall from the tree, the girls are adults. (Or, at least, would be adults if the alcohol law wasn't the last thing to class them as kids.) But, we shall just have to wait for Dubya to give his next speech on family values (or, more likely, on that stupid fucking pledge thing) to see whether he expects parents to take more responsibility for their kids than he does for his.

I'm surprised that landlords across Washington haven't got photos of the Bush twins behind the bar to ensure that they don't get into trouble. You don't have to be that vindictive to make a fuss if you see a Bush lush in the corner of your local.
posted by riviera at 5:15 PM on June 29, 2002

maybe its out of the papers because its not a big deal.

you never drank before you were 21?
posted by Satapher at 5:30 PM on June 29, 2002

What ZachsMind said.
posted by rushmc at 5:51 PM on June 29, 2002

what's that saying, "you can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family"? They are his children, but adults. They are not the elected ones. Leave them out of it.
posted by RunsWithBandageScissors at 6:57 PM on June 29, 2002

what's that saying, "you can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family"?

I thought it was "You can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose."
posted by kirkaracha at 7:52 PM on June 29, 2002

I don't think it really matters whether everyone here has had a beer before they reached the legal drinking age or not. It doesn't even matter if the law is stupid or sane.

The law is the law. And until it is repealed, the children of the man who governs our country, above all, should respect it.

If the children of the President of the United States have so little respect for the law, what kind of example does that pose? Considering the fact that these two young adults have a history of abusing alcohol -- considering the fact that the President himself has a history of abusing alcohol -- considering the fact that the two girls have so little respect for their father and his reputation that they see nothing wrong to be drinking, in public, in front of so many federal employees... This is not a non-issue.

Considering the fact that it was the federal government that forced all states to raise the legal drinking age from 18 to 21, or lose federal money for road improvements, the least the Commander in Chief can do is control the illegal habits of his children.

And as for keeping their lives private, I personally think that the moment Dubya trotted those two vixens out while he was campaigning was the moment they gave up their privacy and became public figures -- as public as Princess Di, Oj Simpson, Martha Stewart and Peewee Herman.
posted by crunchland at 8:55 PM on June 29, 2002

i would like to find out how to make my wrist appear to rotate 360 degrees. does anyone know that trick and care to share it?
posted by boltman at 10:30 PM on June 29, 2002

"Vixens"? Get off your high horse. They are adults. Did your parents have control over you until you were 21 Crunchland? Doubtful.
posted by RunsWithBandageScissors at 11:47 PM on June 29, 2002

Get off your high horse. They are adults.

Your righteous indignation's missing the point, Scissors. Yes, of course they're adults, but the law rather artificially makes them 'minors'. And after doing a bit of research, I see that some states allow under-21s to drink in public when accompanied or 'served' by a suitably-related overage adult, rather like watching an R-rated film. So you can't take the implied parent-child relationship out of the legal equation when it comes to US alcohol laws. Much that we'd all like to treat adults as adults. So, does Dubya think the law should be changed, or just disregarded?
posted by riviera at 5:08 AM on June 30, 2002

Just to put a UK spin on things...

Euan Blair was caught drunk once or twice:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_822000/822238.stm

...and Prince Harry was caught drunk and smoking cannabis:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_1757000/1757448.stm

...both were 16 at the time.

Nobody here really cared.
posted by digiboy at 10:52 AM on June 30, 2002

If no one cared, you wouldn't have links to show us.
posted by crunchland at 11:28 AM on June 30, 2002

posted by digiboy at 3:40 PM on June 30, 2002

Stupid laws should not be followed. Hopefully, the fact that the president's daughters are breaking this law openly will serve as another step in embarassing the government into changing the drinking law so that it bears a closer resemblance to both reality and the will of the populace.
posted by bingo at 4:12 AM on July 1, 2002

So who decides what laws are stupid and which aren't? You? And considering the warm reception the two received last time they got busted for using a phony ID, I'm quite sure the congress will take swift action and repeal the minimum drinking age laws ... right after they do a million other things first.

I keep forgetting that there are so many bitter 17 year olds on Metafilter.
posted by crunchland at 5:44 AM on July 1, 2002

What do the people of Europe think? then we should conclude. Yet it's obvious a pattern is forming for such a sadder fact, alcoholism. Then again come to Texas, your Dad does not have to be president to serve you in public, heck if your wife is 21 and your not, she can serve you in public. It's called the "father rule". And children can be in a "bar" till 9pm after that 18 and over. To bad I was legal when I arrived here.
And all establishment can and sometimes refuse, too.
posted by thomcatspike at 7:15 AM on July 1, 2002

well if no one cares, shouldn't the law be changed then?

*exposes self* :)

yeah, that law!
posted by kliuless at 8:48 AM on July 1, 2002

So who decides what laws are stupid and which aren't? You?

Yeah, me. And other individuals of discerning taste.

I keep forgetting that there are so many bitter 17 year olds on Metafilter.

I'm 31. But I drank at 17 with no interference from the police. Pity that celebrity may have prevented the Bush girls from doing the same. You'd think they have enough trouble at home.
posted by bingo at 11:25 AM on July 2, 2002