Enquiring

March 8, 2001 12:18 PM

Enquiring minds want to know! sure, the photo is straight from the tabloids, but it does bring up a few questions...... the bushwatch site has more along the same lines(not more photos).
posted by donkeysuck (37 comments total)

Know what? I don't care what Bush's daughter does. That's like judging Jimmy Carter for Billy's exploits. Okay, maybe not entirely since Jimmy didn't raise his brother...still, this is just pure smear.

Yeesh. I sound like a conservative. ;-)


posted by frykitty at 1:03 PM on March 8, 2001

What questions are those? The Enquirer does what the Enquirer does, I suppose, but I'm not sure how pics of Dubya's daughter all kinds of drunk has any relevance to anything. Who cares if she drinks enough to get clumsy? And, at her age, who doesn't? What impact does this fact have on the body politic? It's a waste of time. The Dubya daughters, and Chelsea, and the Gore daughters, etc. etc. should all be left alone unless they place themselves in the public eye or there's some sort of outrageous hypocrisy or crime involved (such as Ashcroft's nephew receiving leniency on a drug charge or Gore's son driving 110 in a 65 in NC.) I don't think this fits the bill.


posted by kevincmurphy at 1:05 PM on March 8, 2001

This stuff is so stupid. There seem to be better things to focus on then what the president's daughter is drinking.
posted by Doug at 1:22 PM on March 8, 2001

Let he who does not look like a drunken ass in some college friend's scrapbook throw the first stone.
posted by harmful at 1:59 PM on March 8, 2001

the legal drinking age in the state of texas is 21. drinking as a college freshman(woman) at 18 years old, that's about as serious a crime as driving 110 in a 65.

this raises a lot of questions for anyone. i don't think it addresses the integrity of the national enquirer since that is a foregone conclusion. i am more interested in why we didn't see shots of this nature of the recently departed college undergrad/white house child. i don't intend to put questions in people's head, much as i don't intend to do your thinking for you. *amen to that, eh?*

but since you're all crying up a storm, here's a question

What impact does this fact have on the body politic?
why are you making this political? it is a story of human interest. personally, i find it amusing to see billy carter pissing on the runway, roger clinton getting busted for coke, and now jenna bush falling down drunk. yee-haw. lighten up, this ain't larry king.

posted by donkeysuck at 2:06 PM on March 8, 2001

the legal drinking age in the state of texas is 21. drinking as a college freshman(woman) at 18 years old, that's about as serious a crime as driving 110 in a 65.

It's a stupid law. It's a non-issue. Let the Bush girls enjoy their college years as best they can, for fuck's sake.

"College student gets drunk". Yeah, top journalism.


posted by holgate at 2:09 PM on March 8, 2001

On a side note, how great is that pic of dubbya?
posted by Hackworth at 2:13 PM on March 8, 2001

while jenna getting all drunked up is one (really minor, but funny) thing, having the taxpayer-funded secret service drive your boyfriend home from the drunk tank is another (much more serious) issue altogether.
on the other hand, it's not a bad trade-off. we get a good show courtesy of these bush wonder twins for the next four years, and our taxes make sure they get to the next party...

cleetus
posted by cleetus at 2:14 PM on March 8, 2001

The Dubya daughters, and Chelsea, and the Gore daughters, etc. etc. should all be left alone unless they place themselves in the public eye...

Actually, Chelsea did put herself in the public eye when Hillary was running for the Senate, as she campaigned with her mother. Additionally, she was also over 18 at the time. Yet the press completely left her alone. Not that I think that the press should have done anything with her, I'm just surprised that they didn't (being the news-hungry whores that some of them are). But I guess that after Hillary slammed the press for past stories about Chelsea when she was still underage, they were afraid to say anything. Just my 2 cents...
posted by Sal Amander at 2:36 PM on March 8, 2001

Drinking when 18 (old enough to vote, fight in a war) is as serious a crime as driving almost double the speed limit?
And I really dislike Bush, but trying to make it seem like some great miscarriage of justice when a secret service agent drives somebody home from a party...come on, people. Democrats are starting to look just as petty as republicans.
posted by Doug at 2:47 PM on March 8, 2001

Hahahahahhahah!
Public figures embarrassing themselves! See, they are just people, just like us! :)
My machismo is secured by the faux pas of the famous.
please, nobody make me explain this. i will be so disappointed in you.
posted by sonofsamiam at 3:02 PM on March 8, 2001

I totally agree that the sins of the fathers should not be...or is it the sins of the daughters? Whatever. Pictures in the nude, though, might have some historical interest in indicating just how compassionate conservatism really works.
posted by Postroad at 3:08 PM on March 8, 2001

"There's a time and place for everything, and it's called... college."
-- Chef
posted by mathowie at 3:11 PM on March 8, 2001

"Actually, Chelsea did put herself in the public eye when Hillary was running for the Senate, as she campaigned with her mother. Additionally, she was also over 18 at the time. Yet the press completely left her alone. "

What I think is interesting is the almost universal disinterest in more pressing concerns, like the tax cut, even here at MeFi. The press certainly didn't give Clinton the break that Dubya now seems to be enjoying. Is it that he's just too obtuse to be thought of as accountable in relation to the national agenda...or, what?
posted by xammerboy at 3:15 PM on March 8, 2001

Hmmm. Who's the cute one on the bottom...?
posted by Tubes at 3:17 PM on March 8, 2001

To Tubes: my daughter! but it is ok cause I might end up in the oil game and make big bucks...
posted by Postroad at 4:23 PM on March 8, 2001

I wonder if there will be any sightings from anyone going to SXSW this year.
posted by redleaf at 5:02 PM on March 8, 2001

To me, it doesn't appear that she has fallen over. It looks more like she and the other friend are pulling some kind of prank.

Look at the guy in the chair in the background on the right.

He's looking right at them, and sitting back, completely relaxed. If I were him and I saw one drunk girl falling onto and knocking another drunk girl over on the concrete, I would be at attention, hoping that neither was hurt and seeing if I could help out.

Could be wrong, though.
posted by syzygy at 5:03 PM on March 8, 2001

If I saw two drunken co-eds writhing around on the floor with their legs entangled, I'd be at attention too.
posted by rcade at 5:09 PM on March 8, 2001

syzygy: You may be more chivalrous than a UT fratboy. Although he might be giving it a thought the thumb rubbing the chin indicates thought of some kind (maybe not good). You gotta dig the leopard pants of the person next to him.
posted by redleaf at 5:11 PM on March 8, 2001

It looks like Jenna tripped to me. Note the tricky wording of the caption. "...Winds up like this." As in, she wasn't drunk in this photo, but this is how she might look if she were.
posted by waxpancake at 6:22 PM on March 8, 2001

Jenna's a chip off the old block. the shrubs sure know how to party.

about the guy watching: he looks as inebriated as she does.
posted by cfj at 7:01 PM on March 8, 2001

While I'm sure Chelsea got drunk a couple times while in school at Stanford, on the whole, her behavior and demeanor have always been far more wholesome.

In short, there are no stories about her because they would inevitably be those of an intelligent and capable young woman - not exactly the type of reporting that garners ratings.

Dubya's daughter following in the footsteps of her alcoholic father, on the other hand, is most definately newsworthy.
posted by aladfar at 7:23 PM on March 8, 2001

Teenage girl has fun, democrats demand legislation. And I thought the Attorney General was a stick in the mud.
posted by Mick at 7:24 PM on March 8, 2001

Whatever you think about the current President, how weird would that be to be chilling out and drinking with the President's daughter at a college party? I think that it would weird me out too much.
posted by crawl at 7:27 PM on March 8, 2001

Democrats demand legislation? Where's it say that? Maybe conservatives need medication?
posted by rodii at 7:27 PM on March 8, 2001

What I want to know is, where were the parents?
posted by fable at 8:17 PM on March 8, 2001

What I like about this picture is the the fact that she has a beer and a cigarette in the same hand (apparently she fell too.)
posted by samsara at 9:05 PM on March 8, 2001

Look's to me like she tripping.

Maybe a little E before she got to the party. Perhaps she's palying twister with all the colored spots on the floor.
posted by valintin23 at 9:30 PM on March 8, 2001

The acorn doesn't fall far from the tree...Personally, I do think it indicates something significant about the Bush family approach to responsible behavior...
posted by rushmc at 10:12 PM on March 8, 2001

aladfar, rushmc: bollocks.

Euan Blair was arrested for being drunk and incapable last summer, after celebrating his GCSE results. (He was 16 at the time.) His dad was embarrassed, the media erupted in hilarity, and no moral conclusions were drawn, except that (as Our Glorious Tony said) it can be harder being a parent than a PM, and sometimes you don't quite succeed.

Kids are meant to embarrass their parents at this age, so that in turn, their kids can embarrass them. I'd be much more worried if Jenna Bush was attending Bob Jones University, had sworn off the booze for life, and was out evangelising to unwary passers-by.

Oh, fuckit. What Chef said.
posted by holgate at 4:02 AM on March 9, 2001

Yep. You'd think an alcoholic father with a DUI would have a few words with his kids about drinking -- let alone underage drinking, which is illegal -- especially since he (and they) are public figures, but I guess not.

There were actually plenty of stories about Chelsea after she turned 18 -- the vast majority (meaning, not Rush Limbaugh) were pleasant because she never misbehaved (at least not publicly, which is the most that you can expect, if not demand).
posted by lia at 4:19 AM on March 9, 2001

rodii, I was exaggerating. Kind of like everyone here who thinks this important.
posted by Mick at 5:52 AM on March 9, 2001

The NY Times has an article, Chelsea Under Wraps, by Margaret Talbot. Registration required, but of course you guys probably already know that.
posted by lia at 6:39 AM on March 9, 2001

If Dubya was my dad, I'd be getting hammered on an hourly basis too ....
posted by darren at 9:19 AM on March 9, 2001

I don't think it's reasonable for the Bushes to expect their daughters to receive the same hands-off treatment Chelsea did from everyone but the unctious Rush Limbaugh, who called her "the White House dog" in 1992 on his TV show.

Chelsea was 12 in 1992. These women are adults in college. If Chelsea was photographed falling down drunk today (or just falling down), I think the tabloid press would have a field day with it.
posted by rcade at 10:46 AM on March 9, 2001

Kids are meant to embarrass their parents at this age...

What utter tripe.
posted by rushmc at 8:00 AM on March 10, 2001