User:JamesMLane/George W. Bush substance abuse controversy

Personal life, service and education
George W. Bush, son of George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush, was born in New Haven, Connecticut. He grew up in Midland and Houston, Texas, with his siblings Jeb, Neil, Marvin, and Dorothy. A younger sister, Robin, died of leukemia in 1953 at the age of three. The family spent the summers and most holidays at the sprawling estate known as the Bush Compound. Like his father, Bush was educated at Phillips Academy (Andover), (September 1961–June 1964) and at Yale University (September 1964–May 1968). At Yale, he joined Delta Kappa Epsilon (of which he was president from October 1965 until graduation) and the Skull and Bones secret society. He was a C student, with a grade point average of 2.35 out of 4.00. He played baseball and rugby union during his freshman and senior years. He received a bachelor's degree in history in 1968.

After graduating from Yale, Bush enlisted in the Texas Air National Guard on May 27, 1968 during the Vietnam War, with a commitment to serve until May 26, 1974. He served as an F-102 pilot until 1972 and was twice promoted during his service, first to second lieutenant and then to first lieutenant. In November 1970, Lt. Col. Jerry B. Killian, the commander of the Texas Air National Guard, recommended that Bush be promoted to first lieutenant.

In September 1973 he received permission to end his six-year commitment six months early in order to attend the MBA program at Harvard University Graduate School of Business. He transferred to inactive reserve status shortly before being honorably discharged on October 1, 1973.

It has frequently been alleged that Bush skipped over a waiting list to receive a National Guard slot, that he did not report for required duty from 1972 to 1973, and that he was suspended from flying after he failed to take a required physical examination and drug test. These issues were publicized during the 2004 Presidential campaign by the group Texans for Truth and other Bush critics. See George W. Bush military service controversy for details.

Bush entered Harvard Business School in 1973. He was awarded a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) in 1975, and is the first U.S. president to hold an M.B.A degree.

On September 4, 1976, Bush was pulled over by police near his family's summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine. He was arrested, admitted his guilt, was fined $150, and had his driving license suspended for 30 days in the state for driving under the influence of alcohol. News of the arrest was uncovered by the press five days before the 2000 presidential election.

Bush married Laura Welch in 1977. They had twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna Bush, born in 1981. In 1986, at the age of 40, he left the Episcopal Church and joined his wife's denomination, the United Methodist Church.

Bush has described his days before his religious conversion as his "nomadic" period and "irresponsible youth." and admitted to drinking "too much" in those years; he says that although he never joined Alcoholics Anonymous, he gave up drinking for good shortly after waking up with a hangover after his 40th birthday celebration: "I quit drinking in 1986 and haven't had a drop since then." He ascribed the change in part to a 1985 meeting with The Rev. Billy Graham. , ,

Some Bush critics have suggested that his public statements and actions reflect a "classic addictive thinking pattern" common among former alcoholics, and one psychiatrist (Frank, 2004) wrote a book describing him as "an untreated ex-alcoholic with paranoid and megalomaniac tendencies." For further details on these arguments and the opposition to them, see George W. Bush substance abuse controversy.

Bush has said that he did not use illegal drugs at any time since 1974. He has denied the allegation (Hatfield, 1999) that family influence was used to expunge the record of an arrest for cocaine possession in 1972, and has declined to discuss whether he used drugs before 1974. 

In taped recordings of a conversation with an old friend, author Doug Wead, Bush said: &#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t answer the marijuana questions,&#8221; &#8220;You know why? Because I don&#8217;t want some little kid doing what I tried.&#8221;  When Wead reminded Bush that the latter had publicly denied using cocaine, Bush replied, "I haven't denied anything." For further detail, see George W. Bush substance abuse controversy.