Merle Boucher says it wasn't the stress of the Legislature that prompted him to seek treatment for alcoholism. For the North Dakota House's Democratic leader, it was the time away from the pressures of the Capitol that was the problem.

"Sometimes life gets to be so routine and so normal, you don't notice sometimes these things creeping up on you," the Rolette lawmaker said. "I didn't have quite the challenges, and I think I found myself slipping. … The last six to 12 months, I slid pretty fast."

Boucher, 60, a rancher and former schoolteacher and coach, recently finished a monthlong program at a Minot treatment center. He agreed to check in at the urging of family members and friends, who Boucher said had a closer look at his alcohol problem than his political colleagues.

Now, he feels refreshed and ready to plunge into the home stretch of the fall campaign, Boucher said. He is unopposed for re-election, but in his role as House Democratic leader, Boucher often provides campaign and issue advice to the party's legislative candidates.

"I've finished my schooling, and I'm ready to take the world on," he said.

The Senate Democratic leader, David O'Connell of Lansford, who is a close friend of Boucher's, said he had not been aware of his struggles with alcohol. David Strauss, the state party chairman, said he was shocked at Boucher's decision to enter treatment.

Four days before Boucher began treatment, he attended a number of meetings and events connected to the North Dakota visit of Howard Dean, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Dean was the featured guest at a Fargo barbecue on Aug. 12.

Boucher attended the picnic, a separate reception, a state Democratic policy committee meeting and other events, Strauss said. He noticed nothing unusual.

"I had seen him in a number of social settings," Strauss said. "I had no inkling that this might be a problem for him."

During the Legislature, Boucher is among the first lawmakers to show up at the Capitol, usually arriving before 7 a.m.

In the evenings, it is easy for legislators to cadge free drinks at interest group receptions and hospitality rooms if they choose, but Boucher said his legislative responsibilities kept his drinking in check.

"There was the Bismarck Merle and there was the back-home Merle," Boucher said. "I understood that I had to control things (during the Legislature) and watch things very, very closely because you can't get up at 5 o'clock in the morning and go to work."

He began drinking more after the 2005 Legislature adjourned, Boucher said. Normally a wine and beer drinker, he began to favor brandy. He would awake during the night and need a drink to get back to sleep, he said.

"My body was starting to demand it," Boucher said. "Somewhere along the line it went from drinking because I wanted to, or because I had fun at it, I crossed that line into where I needed it. … I woke up feeling crappy in the morning, and the best way to feel better was to take a couple of stiff shots."

Family members worried about his drinking and his health. Seven years ago, Boucher had two angioplasties, which are procedures to clear heart artery blockages.

Now, he is waking up refreshed, without a hangover, Boucher said.

"My physical health feels a whole lot better," he said. "It's amazing what a good night's sleep can do for you."

He said he intends to run again for Democratic House leader after the November elections. Boucher was first elected to the position in December 1996.

"I have some personal goals of my own that I want to meet, and I feel getting myself back on track, I really feel I have plenty to offer yet," Boucher said. "I'm looking forward to that opportunity."