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Bush on Dr Phil on drinking
September 30, 2004
US President George W. Bush has told daytime TV viewers it's "awfully difficult" for parents to urge their children not to drink and drive if they do it themselves.
"The parents have got to understand that when they tell their child something they have to be willing to live it in order for the child to be able to absorb the truth of what the parent is trying to say," Mr Bush said on advice show Dr Phil.
The interview with Mr Bush and first lady Laura Bush by host Phil McGraw was taped on July 29 at the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas, and broadcast in the US today.
Days before the 2000 presidential election, Mr Bush was caught withholding information about a drink-driving arrest in Maine in 1976.
He said at the time he had not been specific about the incident earlier because he wanted to keep the information from his twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna.
"It's awfully difficult for a parent to tell a child not to drink and drive when the parent drinks and drives," Mr Bush said in the TV interview.
Mr Bush, now 58, gave up alcohol at 40 after concluding he was drinking too much. He often refers to the power of faith in that process and once referred to his youthful drinking as a "young and irresponsible" stage of his life.
Though they have largely remained out of the media spotlight, the Bushes' 22-year-old daughters have at times drawn headlines for alcohol-related episodes.
In May 2001, police in Austin, Texas, cited both for violating state alcoholic beverage laws.
Police accused Barbara Bush of being a minor in possession of alcohol and Jenna Bush of misrepresenting her age for allegedly trying to use false identification to buy alcohol.
The charges were dismissed after the twins, then 19, performed community service, attended alcohol awareness classes and paid $US100 (about $140) in fines.
The month before, Jenna Bush had pleaded no contest to charges of underage drinking. She was ordered to take alcohol counselling and perform community service. A judge fined her $US500 ($700) and suspended her licence for 30 days.
The Associated Press
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