[BACK] [MENU]

West Wing is 'pretend' politics - has it increased your passion for the real thing?

I would say so, yes. But I should point out that I don't have a great deal of personal interest in politics per se. I have a very great, very passionate and lifelong interest in issues of social justice. Peace and social justice. And all of those touch on the political arena, but I don't count on the political arena for any solutions. I have much more invovlement in people movements.

And you've been very outspoken about the current real-life president...

Bush is a white-knuckle drunk, and I speak with authority on this because I am an alcoholic. Sober for twelve years, so I don't say this lightly. In AA we have three things going for us that Mr Bush is not privvy to, and they are The Twelve Step Programme, The Community and the acknowledgement of our disease in a public way. For a celebrity like myself, my anonymity is destroyed, I realise that and even the programme itself asks me not to do that, but in this case there is no point in me trying to retain my anonymity. Mr Bush, on the other hand has said that he quit drinking in 1986 because he thought it was a good thing to do. Now recently it was discovered that he'd been caught in a DWI (driving while under the influence) since then, and he said that he'd kept it secret because he did not want his daughters to know about it.

Understandable enough, surely?

No! That is the biggest load of bullshit imaginable, and it's so typical of a White Knuckle Drunk's attitude. The only things that will destroy us are our secrets. Mr Bush is still denying the fact that he needs help with his drinking. I am an acloholic now, I will be an alcoholic all my life becuase I cannot drink. I am irresponsible, my life is out of control. So is Mr Bush's. He has to acknowledge that. You don't think there's any tension involved in being President? But now, he doesn't have any community to go to. If he had that, there isn't any chance in hell that he'd have used that phoney-assed excuse for keeping his DWI secret. On the other hand, it is indicative of the lack of character this man has. He is an arrogant man, and that's dangerous. Arrogance is ignorance matured.

So the man shouldn't be in office?

Not in his condition, no. See there's a lot of other stuff we don't know about this guy. I mean, I've watched him - that time he was caught on open mike calling one of your fellow reporters an asshole because he'd criticised him. And his first response was 'Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realise the mike was open'. Not 'I was an asshole for calling him an asshole.' But you see, that is what drunks use. They always defer the responsability away from themselves, rather than say 'Hey, I got caught, I'm an asshole, I'm sorry.'

Easier said than done, surely?

That's the problem. Mr Bush doesn't have a real sense of humour about himself. Takes himself too seriously, man. That's dangerous. And particularly in this office. I think he's an extremely arrogant, unqualified man to be in the highest office in the land. I don't think he has a shred of respect for that office or for his opposition. I think it's very risky. His character is so flawed. And to use his family to try and hide what happened to him?

Looking back at your own family's addiction issues, they nearly cost you your son.

I knew what I was dealing with, though. I wasn't talking to Charlie - I was talking to the drug. Now we have a relationship, before we had no relaationship, because we weren't on the same page. We were dealing with his addicition, not him. That was very costly. But in a good sense. A different relationship came out of that. becuase the one we had before was false. One of the most gratifying highlights of my life, one day I was driving along the freeway and on the news I heard this story that Charlie credited me with saving his life. And I pulled over to the side of the road and I wept uncontrollably with gratitude. I called him immediately and asked him 'Is this true?' And he said 'Oh yes. I'm glad you heard that.' And I said 'Well, you know what? It isn't true. You saved your life. You did the work. You did it. Don't ever let anyone take the credit for saving your life, becuase it was you.'

Did you feel a failure as a father?

Oh absolutely. That's one of the great stumbling blocks, the baggage of the past. My God, if I could get back one day of the damage I've done to my children in the past, I would live back in the past. But you can't. You do have the experience of the past to take into the future, and that gives you credibility. And then you can go forward. But if you focus on the past, that's where you stay, and you're gonna fall on your ass.

Drugs can't have any beneficial effect?

I've met people in my life, maybe you have as well, who assure me they have seen God on one substance or another, and I have no doubt that they have. The problem there is, getting back to seeing God again, they have to rely on that substance. And even more of it each time. So the experience does not belong to them, it belongs to the substance.

And now Charlie's in a political show [Spin City] opposite yours.

[laughs] I know! I love it. He whooped us one night.

In the 2000 elections, you were campaigning for Gore whilst being beamed into the nation's homes as President Of The USA. Did you ever fear a conflict of interest?

Not a chance, no. Part of the reason why I'm playing this part is because of my involvement in social justice issues. It's about all of my adult life. I'm not a democrat by accident. There's been an awful lot of mail at my house that has been very very critical of my positions - I'm taking a beating on both sides. It's all very nice being invited out with the President, but I take my share of licks on the other side. The country is extremely conservative - you have to be aware of that. Far more so than we prefer to think.

Links:

• Arena - http://www.emapmagazines.co.uk/
• The West Wing (NBC)
• thewestwing.co.uk