Another Jenna Bush drinking scandal

Have we all stepped into a time warp? At 26, Jenna Bush has been able to legally drink all the margaritas she wants for five years. And yet here it is: a brand new drinking scandal from her underage era. Bottoms up.

The tidbit comes from Slate.com, which excerpted New York Times reporter Eric Lichtblau's upcoming book, Bush's Law: The Remaking of American Justice. From the excerpt:

On Sept. 12, 2001, another major newspaper was set to run a story on the extraordinary diplomatic maneuverings the U.S. Secret Service had arranged with their Mexican counterparts to allow Jenna Bush, then 19, to make a barhopping trip south of the border. (She had just been charged with underage drinking in Texas.)

A few days earlier, a scoop about a presidential daughter's barhopping trip getting special dispensation from the Secret Service and a foreign government might have gotten heavy treatment. But the story never ran, and the Secret Service's maneuverings remained a secret until now. In the weeks and months after 9/11, there was no longer an appetite for such stories.

-Aman Batheja

Comments

[Rebecca]

So what, she's the least interesting daughter anyway. What 19 kid making a trip to Mexico hasn't been barhopping? This is not news now or then.

[Spencer]

I didn't have to go to Mexico or have secret service for people to not find out about my drinking at 19. I think the issue isn't that a 19 year old consumed alcohol, but why it remains illegal for one to do so. You can drive at 16, but can't drink for 5 more years? Perhaps this is backwards, seeing as a car is much more lethal at that age.

[CW]

yawn. Is that the best story you have to run at the top of the page?

[Don J.]

Good grief!! Bash Bush all you want, but leave his daughter out of it.

[east bremerton florist]

even though it is illegal, and the excuse that a lot of young kids do those kinds of things at that age doesnt really make it justified, still who hasnt done that in their youth? it's only magnified to a certain degree because her father is a public figure.

[Joe]

She was 19 at the time, and the legal drinking age in Mexico is 18. I'm puzzled by the " extraordinary diplomatic maneuverings".

[D E]

So why is this a story all these years later ? Is there nothing left to bash the Bush family about to where you have to dig up old news ? She has settled her lifestyle down can you not let things alone ? I guess you never did anything stupid at 19????

[Brian]

What was the point of that story? That is not news. She was a 19 year old college student. Here is a news flash - College kids drink, it is what they do!!! Wake up America and get a life of your own!!!!

[Michell]

What exactly is the "scandal" here? Its perfectly legal to drink in Mexico over the age of eighteen. Thats why ALL high school kids go there for their senior trip.

[understandable J.]

I would be on crack if he was my daddy.

[Rebecca]

My tax dollars paying for her secret service so she can go party in Mexico underage is the question, not whether everyone does it.

[Danielle T.]

You know out of all the things to talk about, you all bring up a story about who somebody from the Bush, family bad enough her father is responsible for our troubles, but we the other people in the US could careless about her or any other story, how about this, lets not do anymore stories them crazy people unless its a death.

[scott]

Well look at the source. SLATE! Hmmm they dont have any biases do they? Anything the radical left can do to try and besmirch Bush is fair game to them.

[Pat]

It did'nt run because someone said, this is'nt a story this is pure B/S.Like the other post said, go after Dad Leave the kids alone!

[M]

So because your (and my) tax dollars are paying for it, she shouldn't be a normal college kid? Should all children of Presidents be under house arrest so your tax dollars don't pay for anything unnecessary?

[bigboxes]

"My tax dollars paying for her secret service so she can go party in Mexico underage is the question, not whether everyone does it."

Uh no. She gets secret service protection because she is the President's daughter, no matter what she is doing. The real issue is that she just got busted for underage drinking and then went to Mexico for more drinking. Just bad judgement. The rest are right. It shouldn't be illegal to drink at 18, let alone 19.

[Yo]

Maybe it would be more acceptable if she was to take this last year of her Daddy's presidentency and tour the world. Oh, right that was already done under the previous administration. I'm sure it helped global warming also, but we won't ever see any correlation about that....