During the Pete Hegseth secretary of defense Senate confirmation hearings, Democrats were fixated on his personal issues, including allegations about his drinking.  They pompously attempted to add credibility to an anonymous smear campaign but only added more incredulity to the accusations.

Mr. Hegseth vehemently denies having had a drinking problem, though as a combat vet we may understand the temptation to imbibe. Since he never missed a scheduled appearance in several years on Fox News, it’s a stretch to conclude he had a “problem.”  Certainly not to the extent of John Tower, whose nomination for SecDef the Senate rejected in 1989.

But if someone once partook too often, but comes out smelling like roses, why should that be an encumbrance now?  Actually, those who overcome challenges often come out stronger.  As Will Rogers once said, “good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.” 

But whose judgment do you trust more: someone who faced combat then emerged intact from PTSD, or someone untested in the cauldron of war?  The former may have cultivated more depth of character, as evidenced by subsequent years of propriety and sobriety.  It’s likely that any brush with the dark, drunken side elicited a soul-searching, gut-wrenching re-evaluation of life’s purpose and priorities. 

Surly Senator Schumer directed Dems to pressurize Trump’s nominees, but their moralizing toward Hegseth was misplaced.  Indeed, Oklahoma’s Senator Mullins was not subtle in suggesting that those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.  Apparently, he has witnessed drunken senators conducting business, even voting while tipsy.  Perhaps they should substitute “senators” for “sailors” in their common refrain, like so:  “spending like drunken senators.”

It’s notable that the more time that has elapsed since a person’s purported drinking, the less likely he is to relapse.  Only 9.6% of alcoholics (not saying Hegseth is one, by any stretch) relapse in years three through five of sobriety.  Compare that to the 30% of American adults who report excessive drinking.  One wonders if that number is higher for sanctimonious senators.

Apparently, Lady Astor (a female M.P. in Great Britain)’s appearance was not easy on the eyes.  When she dared accuse Sir Winston Churchill of being “disgustingly drunk,” he replied, “My dear, you are ugly, and what’s more, you are disgustingly ugly.  But tomorrow I shall be sober, and you will still be disgustingly ugly.”

Mr. Hegseth is well on the path to self-actualization, so I doubt that it will be an issue.  But even if he became tipsy during a SecDef function, he’d be sober in the morning.  Contrast that to some of the Pentagon brass, who may be stone-cold sober but disgustingly stupid all the time.

Woody Allen is purported to have mused that “90% of life is just showing up.”  Hegseth always shows up, which is much more than can be said for Lloyd Austin, the drunk-on-power SecDef who went AWOL.  Here’s a toast to Mr. Pete Hegseth, the next sober-minded secretary of defense.

Image via PickPik.