“Never trust a man who doesn’t drink.”
— W.C. FIELDS
Since it’s W.C. Fields, it’s difficukt to be certain, but I feel pretty strongly that this famous quote is not saying anything inspirational about the joys of alcoholism. It’s certainly not saying the best man for the job is a man who is intoxicated all the time.
The way I read it — and would agree with it — is that the kind of man who would brag about being a teetotaler is the kind of man who would say he is a better person than man who drink in moderation because he never imbibes demon rum.
He’s a good boy, a term more often used to describe dogs.
Actually, the great hero of the MAGA crowd is someone who swears he has never had an alcoholic beverage in his life.
Donald Trump had an older brother whose life was ruined by alcoholism, so he brags that he has never had alcohol. So as he grew up desperately seeking Daddy Fred’s love, at least the Fredster couldn’t call him a drunk.
Grouchy little homo, maybe. Grouchy little alky, never.
Of course, this creates a dilemma for the MAGA crowd, many of whom justified their votes for Gee Dubya Bush by saying they would rather drink a beer with him than with Al Gore or John Kerry. Drinking a beer with someone is a metaphor in the same sense as the teetotaling.
Just as teetotaling can be seen as holier than thou, drinking a beer together can signify that the candidate is just one of the guys.
The two men — Bush and Trump — actually have one thing in common, although Bush is far nicer than Trump in this respect. Bush gave many of his colleagues and subordinates nicknames, although he never used them to the extent or to the level of viciousness Trump does.
Bush has actual friends from as far back as his Yale days.
Trump has clients and victims.
To be fair, I don’t think Bush drinks alcoholic beverages anymore. The reason for that is he developed a drinking problem in his late thirties and stopped drinking at age 40. But you never hear him brag about not drinking. In fact, although I could be wrong about this, I believe that while he was president, he drank an occasional non-alcoholic beer.
He doesn’t brag about not drinking.
He just doesn’t drink.
I will never be a fan of Gee Dubya Bush, but I do admire him for refusing to get on the MAGA bandwagon.
Also for his quote after Trump’s inaugural address in 2017.
“That was some weird shit.”
About what you might expect from a man who doesn’t drink.