Today some 20,000 pages of transcripts from tapes Henry Kissinger made during his time working in the White House were released. As usual, you can bet there'll be cynics out there that say they don't show President Nixon in the best light. For example, you might hear phrases like "drunken fool" thrown around. Or "pickled old retard." But before we all start piling on, let's get honest about a few things.

So there was one time when Nixon was too drunk to talk to the British Prime Minister. One time. There are some that would say you can't get drunk enough to talk to any Brit, let alone the Prime Minister. I hardly think one incident is a big deal. And so it happened to be five days into the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. Big deal. It's not like Nixon's sobriety would have kept those lovebirds from going at it. By my count, there have been at least three sober Presidents since 1973 and I think we're still more than a couple of drinks away from meaningful peace over there.

Who hasn't cancelled some afternoon meetings because they had one too many margaritas over potato skins at Friday's? The Middle East is upsetting stuff, and sometimes you need something to round out those edges. I don't think that means you're unfit to lead.

Analogcabin @ 12:46 PM
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