Kavanaugh And Drinking Then And Now Let's talk about drinking generally: It is part of our social structure. Most people drink a lot in their teens and twenties perhaps. Then they grow out of it, settle, learn their limits. No big deal. Except when you become a SCOTUS nominee and the oppsition has nothing to defeat you.   Now, POTUS said he was vocal about the fact that he likes beer, he is not man who said he was perfect, no one asked what's happened in the last 20-25 years in his professional career, they could not find any reports on drinking causing a problem and there are bad reports on everybody here - acknowledged the President today.    (very long press conference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_698w_u9Us) Overall, POTUS did not disqualify K for drinking problems, if any exists currently. Despite the fact that POTUS is a stickler for alcohol. His brother died of alcoholism, which is a very painful loss for him, that is why he isn't a drinker, but he understands the whole deal.   Could K be a high functioning alcoholic? He could be, but we may never know. Could he be a gray area drinker? He could be. Would that preclude him from the nomination? To some it could, to some it wouldn't. POTUS considered this before the nomination and was willing to take the risk. He did not nominate a high school kid he nominated an appellate federal judge.