That's abuse.

I hate it that politicans and mega-stars use their substance abuse as a convenient excuse when things go sour. Mel Gibson and his stint in rehab, Mark Foley and his alleged substance abuse issues and now Florida State Rep. Rafael Arza (R - Miami) is blaming his use of a racial slur on the fact that he was drunk.

I don't consider myself a total lush, but many a weekend night find me with more than a beer or two, drunk and having a dance party in somebody's living room. You don't find me (or any of my pals, for that matter) leaving messages with racial slurs, sending inappropriate email messages to children or verbally absuing a Jewish police officer. When I get drunk, I listen to a little Kanye West, wireless compute, and often become overwhelmed by my love for my husband and fondness for my cute little dog. I don't get it, man. I know everybody's different, but friends, we must draw the line in the sand at some point, for heaven's sake.

Luckily I'm not the only one who feels this way. I know it's long, but I am posting an editorial comment from CBS's Bob Schieffer on the matter. It's worth a read - and proves that many of us are tired of excuses. Enjoy.

How you doing on excuses in the Mark Foley Congressional Page scandal?

Remember when the story first broke? Congressional excusers who apparently knew of this, first described the e-mails that Foley sent to a 16-year old page as "overly friendly," not explicitly obscene.

My first thought was that great line from Robin Williams' new movie when a presidential character denied wrongdoing: "I did not have sex with that woman...I wanted to."

Then we heard that whatever he had done, Foley had checked into alcohol rehab — the obligatory stop for national celebrities caught in scandal

Question: does getting drunk make it OK for a grown man to prey on 16-year-olds or for congressional leaders to cover it up?

From Chapter Two of the excuse manual came word that as a child Foley was abused by a priest, but was now cooperating with authorities — naming names.

Which brought a 69-year-old man from under a rock somewhere with an excuse to gag a buzzard.

It's always dangerous to say we know enough, but haven't most of us with an IQ higher than our age figured out two things here: that Foley is a creep who should be kept away from kids and that Congressional leaders knew that — how could they not have known — yet chose to ignore it?

I have a request. My barf bag is at the ready, but spare me any more detail.

I know all I need to know on this one.


By Bob Schieffer
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