Bush Talks of Past Addiction
President Shares Personal Insights With Ex-Prisoners
By Michael Abramowitz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 30, 2008; Page A04
BALTIMORE, Jan. 29 -- President Bush plopped himself into a chair between two former prisoners, Thomas Boyd and Adolphus Moseley, and asked to hear how their lives had changed. But first, he wanted them to know something about him: "I understand addiction," he said, "and I understand how a changed heart can help you deal with addiction."
The scene inside a tiny room in an East Baltimore rowhouse Tuesday was part of an unusual day for the president, who referred repeatedly to his struggle with alcohol as a way of connecting with the participants in Jericho, a church-run program that helps former inmates find jobs and reenter society.
"Addiction is hard to overcome," Bush told reporters after meeting with Boyd and Moseley, both of whom told the president they had struggled with drugs. "As you might remember, I drank too much at one time in my life. I understand faith-based programs. I understand that sometimes you can find the inspiration from a higher power to solve an addiction problem."
Bush, who was here to celebrate the seventh anniversary of his program to funnel federal funds to "faith-based" social service organizations, has occasionally talked over the years about his struggles with alcohol before he quit in 1986 after waking up with a hangover from celebrating his 40th birthday
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