I’ve got nothing to add re: Gibson, and my comments shouldn’t be read as a defense of him. But as a general proposition could we get away from all this world-weary punditry about how booze brings out the truth? Sure, it sometimes does. But, if booze was some sort of truth serum we could make Andrew Sullivan happy and give up waterboarding forever. Just get that Jihadi a cosmopolitan! Electrodes on your kibbles and bits? Forget that. Pabst Blue Ribbon will do the trick!

Also if booze always brought out the truth in us, then every scummy dude in the country really would respect the girl in the morning and every slurred “I love you” would be sincere.

Update: From a reader:

I just read your posting about lying and drinking, and I think you perhaps might want to think that through a little more.
I understand that you mean this not as a defence of Gibson; however, I think you would agree that there are substantive differences between an anti-Semitic drunken rant, and skeezy dudes trying to get with a girl. One’s motivation is clearly different in one instance from the other. Not to mention that there is certainly a qualitative difference about knowing one’s true personality, as shown by alcohol, and knowing terrorists tactical plans. Were you actually trying to make a coherent point other than taking a shot at Sullivan?

Me: . This was the first email I received in response to the email. I thought I was clear. Yes, there is a difference between an anti-Semitic rant and a what I’m talking about, which is the primary reason I said my comments shouldn’t be read as a defense of Gibson. But I’ve been listening to a lot of Fox and CNN on my XM radio on this trip, and it seems everyone is relying on a cliché that booze automatically brings out the truth in people. That’s all I was addressing. I do think booze can — and often does — bring out the dark side of peoples’ personalities which, I think, is what happened with Gibson.