Having some degree of expertise in this area, acknowledged by the State in the form of a license, I'd GUESS that The Little Monkey is currently drinking. His behavior is one indicator, but all that could be done sober but not recovering.

His "choking" incident is very suspicious. So is his appearance of late. Where he's not "made up" he looks very, very rough. And again, he doesn't "go out" nights. None of the Washington social scene for a guy who is a publicity hog, who slaps down Ashcroft, Cheney, et al when they start to get a lot of media attention.

I THINK he's drinking again. And, that is ONLY an opinion, an educated guess, and not anything I'd swear to. He may not be.

There really are two issues, as the post points out. First, abstinence, as evidenced by NO use of mood- or mind-altering drugs with the minor exception of anti-depressants. NONE of 'em, zero, zilch, nada, EVER.

Next is the issue of recovery, learning to live comfortably and effectively without using such things.

In my experience AA/NA etc. are in the recovery business. One has to not use and then learn how to live. They are not in the business of just not using.

GWB on the campaign trail showed some evidence of being in "recovery". Modest, a concensus builder, and so on. Then when he got power, his ego has run wild. NOT recovery.

We'll see, maybe, or they may be able to keep it a secret. The true extent of Clinton's drinking and using while in office hasn't come out.

As Bush's fragile but huge ego feels more and more cornered he could do some even more rash things.

Arf