That doesn't take into account the fact the Rob will 99.9% experience relapse between when he gets back and election day.
I'm a Social Worker with very strong experience in addictions.
Often, the people who end up at rehab or 12 step programs for the first time end up having it click, are succesful because they have been trying to stop for some time on their own. They have known for quite some time that their use is problematic and are ready to put the drugs down forever and deal with their issues. Rob hasn't ever seriously tried to stop on his own (OK, maybe the November to January things was a kick at the can). Also, considering the addiction issues that run in his immediate family and associates, heavy drug/alcohol use would likely be somewhat normalized. His denial was obviously still heavy after the Steak Queen incident when he went off the "No alcohol. Guaranteed" train and basically said FU to everyone.
We can pick any which reason that he went to rehab (stop using, get away from pressure, save his job, running from mafia/police, feeling out of control, pressure from Doug/Diane etc), but none of them involve actually wanting to stop drugs forever. He wants to stop the immediate negative consequences from continuing. Once people get clean, they find that, surprise surprise, negative consequences will likely settle down. (unless of course they are say, arrested for past trangressions). Life will resume and get busy and stressful and then what? He is going back to what sounds like a dysfunctional marriage with an actively using wife, a campaign which he will have missed at least a month of, the media pressure (still so many unanswered questions left), having to work closely on a mayoral campaign run by his dysfunctional brother Doug, Police presence, etc. It will be literally impossible to hit the ground running in this mess and successfully apply new life and coping skills learned in basically a laboratory setting.
Rob (and the family) do not seem all that aware yet that the problem is not the drugs, it's him and the mess that his life is in. Recognizing that drugs are causing problems is crucial and will help get you clean, but it will never keep you clean. He is trying to escape from something (or many things), and that aspect of recovery is tightly wrapped in denial at this stage. This is evidenced by thinking he can go to rehab for a few months maximum and come back to the blender. He'll be off the drugs for a few months, which will likely have him feeling pretty good. But the underlying problems that have led to the escape through substances will still be there. There are so many issues with his immediate family, and they are also wrapped in denial about what recovery will take from Rob and themselves. If they are so tightly in the picture when he comes back, which they no doubt will be, he's effed. No doubt the rehab will work with him on this, but honestly I would doubt he is at the point where he is willing to make the drastic changes to his environment that is needed. There is no way he cuts them out for a while, especially since Doug is his campaign manager.
I was speaking with my wife about it this morning. I am pretty convinced that Rob will end up dead at the end of this. The cards are heavily stacked against him.
Well done you.
