The Bruce scandal

Yesterday the news came out that Bruce Springsteen had been arrested for drunk driving in November.

Springsteen, 71, was “cooperative throughout the process” of being arrested Nov. 14 at Gateway National Recreation Area at Sandy Hook, National Parks Service spokeswoman Brenda Ling said in a statement.

Springsteen was accused of driving while intoxicated, reckless driving and consuming alcohol in a closed area.

The story is all the more embarrassing coming as it does three days after Bruce's appearance in a Super Bowl commercial for, of all things, cars. In which commercial, he assumed the role of an elder statesman.

Tongues will be wagging about this for a while. You have to wonder what the sequence of events was among  the bust, his being hired to do the commercial, the commercial being shot and edited, and the Jeep folks finding out about the bust. 

You also have to wonder what he was doing at Sandy Hook driving around crazy (allegedly) on a Saturday. Maybe a joy ride on the beach? Or maybe it was something darker. Was it at night? Did he take the breath test?

Does he still have a license to drive?

I remember when my dad was arrested for driving under the influence. He was around 60, as I'm remembering it. He was just over the line on the Breathalyzer as he drove home one night from the veterans post, as I'm sure he had done dozens of times before. The cops didn't cut him any slack. He lost his license for a while. His friend drove him back and forth to work for several months.

Bruce is human, and he's got issues. Part of me feels bad for him. He's worth half a billion, yet he winds up like this. But like my dad, he had better wise up before somebody gets killed.

UPDATE, later that morning: Here's a version of the events that indicates that the charges against Bruce may not have merit. That would be a relief.