Pubdate: Wed, 30 Jan 2008
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Page A04
Copyright: 2008 The Washington Post Company
Contact:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Author: Michael Abramowitz, Washington Post Staff Writer

BUSH TALKS OF PAST ADDICTION

President Shares Personal Insights With Ex-Prisoners

BALTIMORE -- 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.

But recent encounters with those facing drug or alcohol addiction 
appear to have touched a chord with the president. At a news briefing 
last month on youth drug abuse, Bush told one teenage girl struggling 
with addiction that he, too, had kicked a habit.

During his State of the Union address Monday night, Bush asked 
Congress to write into law rules that make it possible for 
religious-sponsored groups to compete on an even playing field for 
federal grants. The subject received only a brief mention, but it was 
a sign of the president's interest in the program that he made it the 
focus of his first day of travel to highlight his State of the Union themes.

The faith-based program, a key element of the original Bush domestic 
agenda, has been the subject of controversy over the years, with 
criticism that funding has been inadequate and dominated by large 
national organizations rather than the smaller church groups 
envisioned by the White House. The administration says it is funding 
about 5,000 grass-roots charities through the program.

The part of the program that Bush was highlighting Tuesday was a 
prisoner reentry initiative aimed at preventing former inmates from 
falling back into a life of crime. The Jericho program is run by 
Episcopal Community Services of Maryland with funding from the Labor 
Department. It serves about 200 male ex-offenders a year with job 
placement, counseling and mentoring help; the program maintains that 
22 percent of its graduates return to prison, less than half the 
average Baltimore recidivism rate.

As Bush received a tour of the facility Tuesday, he was in high 
spirits, mugging for the cameras, querying participants about their 
lives and speaking of his faith in a "higher power." The White House 
allowed a reporter to sit in on a 20-minute meeting Bush had with 
Boyd, a security guard, and Moseley, who works at a warehouse after 
graduating from the Jericho program.

"Why were you in jail, if you don't mind me asking?" Bush asked 
Moseley, a gregarious 42-year-old who replied that he served time for 
cocaine possession. "It's just one of those things that you need to 
put behind you," he told the president.

Moseley told Bush they could use more such mentoring and counseling 
programs on the west side of Baltimore, and Bush replied: "There are 
programs like that all over the city; they are called churches."

"They are not sincere, like Jericho," Moseley replied, seeming to 
take Bush a bit aback.

"My only point to you is there are a lot of faith-based organizations 
that exist to help deal with very difficult problems," Bush said. "It 
starts with the notion that there is a higher power that will help 
people change their thinking.

"It's very important for everybody to understand that there is a 
commonality, that we all have to deal with the same problems in 
different ways," Bush said. "First is to recognize that there is a 
higher power. At least that helped in my life -- it helped me quit drinking."

Moseley interjected, "That's right, there is a higher power."

"Step One, right?" Bush said, alluding to Alcoholics Anonymous's second step.

The president tried to relate to Boyd and Moseley in other ways, too. 
Moseley talked about how he was worried "to death" about his 
daughters when he was in prison, and Bush interjected, "You can be 
worried when you are incarcerated, and you can be worried when you 
are not incarcerated," drawing laughter.

He asked Moseley how old his daughters are, and when told 17, 15 and 
13, Bush said, "Hooo, man!"

"Girls love their dad, especially a redeemed dad," Bush said.

After Bush departed the facility, Jean Patterson Cushman, executive 
director of Episcopal Community Services, said the people who met 
Bush Tuesday found the president inspiring: "They were kind of amazed 
that the president would talk to them about his own problems," she said. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake