George W. Bush

==== Alcohol abuse ====
Prior to getting married, Bush struggled with multiple episodes of [[alcohol abuse]].<ref name="Life-changing">{{cite news |last1=Romano |first1=Lois |last2=Lardner |first2=George Jr. |title=Bush's Life-Changing Year |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/campaigns/wh2000/stories/bush072599.htm |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=July 25, 1999 |access-date=September 1, 2008 |archive-date=February 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207101528/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/campaigns/wh2000/stories/bush072599.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> In one instance on September 4, 1976, he was pulled over near his family's summer home in [[Kennebunkport, Maine]], for [[Drunk driving|driving under the influence of alcohol]]. He was arrested for DUI, fined $150, and received a brief suspension of his Maine driver's license.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/bushdmv1.html |title=2000 Driving Record |date=November 2, 2000 |access-date=September 1, 2008 |publisher=Department of the Secretary of State of Maine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915165849/http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/bushdmv1.html |archive-date=September 15, 2008 |url-status=live }}<br />{{cite magazine |last=Cohen |first=Adam |title=Fallout From A Midnight Ride |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,998465,00.html |magazine=Time |date=November 13, 2000 |access-date=September 1, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080524075710/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C998465%2C00.html |archive-date=May 24, 2008}}</ref> Bush said his wife has had a stabilizing effect on his life,<ref name=readherlips /> and he attributes her influence to his 1986 decision to give up alcohol.<ref name="turningpoint">{{cite news |date=January 23, 2000 |url=https://www.boston.com/news/politics/president/bush/articles/2000/01/23/george_w_bush/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012215629/http://boston.com/news/politics/president/bush/articles/2000/01/23/george_w_bush/ |archive-date=October 12, 2007 |title=Turning Point: George W. Bush, A Legacy Reclaimed |last=Leonard |first=Mary |access-date=September 1, 2008 |work=The Boston Globe }}</ref> While governor of Texas, Bush said of his wife, "I saw an elegant, beautiful woman who turned out not only to be elegant and beautiful, but very smart and willing to put up with my rough edges, and I must confess has smoothed them off over time."<ref name=readherlips /> Bush also claims that his faith in God was critical in the process to give up drinking. "I believe that God helped open my eyes, which were closing because of booze".<ref>{{cite book|title=Decision Points|publisher=Random House | first=George W. | last=Bush|isbn=978-0-7393-7782-6 | year=2010 | page=51}}</ref>