[MichiganMan]

So, although he was very drunk, and his judgment was so impaired by the drink that he was doing something so foolish as driving drunk, you insist that these remarks must indicate his true feelings with accuracy?

Um, he blew a .12 BAC. 

.12 is drunk, but its "You know Bob, I always thought your wife was hot." drunk, not foaming at the mouth bat&$%* crazy ranting drunk.  Not even close. I like Mel and really think that this was a very regretable incident that I'm sure he sincerely regrets.  Assume an undiagnosed psychotic disorder if you need an excuse, but lets not pretend that he was more drunk than he was. 

[dsc]

“.12 is drunk, but its “You know Bob, I always thought your wife was hot.” drunk, not foaming at the mouth bat&$%* crazy ranting drunk.”

You can’t always tell. If my wife had .12, she’d be unconscious. OTOH, I was in on an early study of drinking and driving back in the early 70s, and all the young men actually drove better at .10.

There’s simply no way to tell how impaired he was at the time, even without considering inaccuracies in measurement or asking how many days he had been drunk.