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It's weird that candidates' use of alcohol isn't more of a campaign issue. I mean I guess it's not weird because most people drink alcohol and don't like the idea of implicitly being judged for doing so. But all else equal, it really seems like it would probably be better if the leader of the free world largely refrained from intoxication.
in reply to Daniel Filan

For reference here are the drinking habits of Presidential candidates since 2000:
- George W Bush: non-drinker
- Al Gore: drinker
- John Kerry: drinker
- John McCain: drinker, I think (altho there's some NY times opinion piece I can't read that claims he rarely if ever drunk, but it's also reported that he had a drinking competition with Hillary Clinton).
- Barack Obama: drinker
- Mitt Romney: non-drinker
- Hillary Clinton: drinker
- Donald Trump: non-drinker
- Joe Biden: non-drinker
- Kamala Harris: drinker
in reply to Daniel Filan

And of 2020 Democratic Primary candidates:
- Joe Biden: non-drinker
- Bernie Sanders: hard to tell
- Pete Buttigieg: drinker
- Elizabeth Warren: drinker
- Amy Klobuchar: can't tell
- Kamala Harris: drinker
- Michael Bloomberg: drinker
- Beto O'Rourke: can't tell
- Kirsten Gillibrand: drinker
- Cory Booker: non-drinker
in reply to Daniel Filan

2016 Republican primary candidates:
- Donald Trump: non-drinker
- Ted Cruz: drinker
- Marco Rubio: can't tell
- John Kasich: can't tell
- Ben Carson: non-drinker
- Jeb Bush: can't tell
- Rand Paul: drinker
in reply to Daniel Filan

I feel like this probably wouldn't affect my vote in a Presidential election, but I could totally imagine it affecting who I would vote for in a primary.
in reply to Daniel Filan

I wonder if it's just a thing that Republicans are more likely to abstain. Seems so based on Presidential candidates since 2000 but that's a small sample size.