WHO IS ROBERT DOWNEY JR.'S VICTIM? ONLY HIMSELF

I HOPE that when Hollywood gets around to making "The Robert Downey Jr.
Story," Downey gets to play himself. He is one of the few screen actors
around who has the talent, not to mention the experience, to convince the
American people that a drug addict is a sick person and not a criminal. But
in the movie, as in life itself, Downey will be a jailbird.

At least, that's the way it now looks. Having been busted on drug charges
last week, he was jailed overnight and is due back in court Dec. 27 for a
hearing. The actor was allegedly found in a conked out state, and police
discovered cocaine and methamphetamines in his hotel room.

Who is Downey's? It has to be himself. He has committed no violent crime,
robbed no bank nor, may I add, offered me a cell phone service that works
only sporadically. The Palm Springs bust is illustrative. The Merv Griffin
Resort Hotel and Givenchy Spa received no complaints and was blissfully
unaware that in one of its rooms, a famous actor was determinedly
sabotaging his career. Not so much as a towel was taken.

To say that Downey has a problem is to understate matters by a considerable
degree. He has lost his wife, his child and -- it may turn out -- his career.

Richard Cohen is a Washington Post columnist.