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After pleading guilty Wednesday to cocaine possession, Florida Rep. Henry "Trey" Radel's political future is unclear.

The freshman Republican, who said his struggle with alcoholism "led to an extremely irresponsible choice," is facing calls from Democrats to resign. But following his apology and decision to seek treatment Tuesday, House Speaker John Boehner said in a prepared statement the issue is between Radel, his family and his constituents.

Radel isn't the only politician who's been waylaid by substance abuse — indeed, the circumstances of his situation appear to pale next to the drama unfolding in Toronto, where the City Council voted to strip Mayor Rob Ford of his power Monday after he admitted to smoking crack cocaine and driving drunk.

While Radel's fortunes are undoubtedly damaged, other members of Congress have been able to win re-election after public struggles with alcohol and drug problems.

Here's a list of some of them:

Rep. John Sullivan, R-Okla. (2009)

Sullivan, a member of Congress for seven years at the time, took a leave of absence in May 2009 to check himself in to the Betty Ford Center in California for alcohol addiction treatment. He returned in July and sailed to re-election in 2010, but lost in the 2012 Republican primary in the Tulsa-based 1st congressional district.

Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I. (2006)

The son of the late Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of prescription drugs after crashing his vehicle into a U.S. Capitol barricade in May 2006. Kennedy, who had been open about his problems with drugs and alcohol and prior to the incident, entered rehabilitation shortly after. He checked into rehab again in 2009. Kennedy announced he would not seek re-election in 2010.

Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio (2006)

Ney resigned from Congress near the end of his sixth term in November 2006 due to his involvement in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. He blamed his addiction to alcohol and checked into a rehab clinic before serving 17 months in prison for corruption charges.

Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla. (2006)

After sending sexually explicit online messages to male congressional pages under the age of 18, Foley resigned from Congress in September 2006. Days later, he entered rehab in Arizona to treat his alcoholism and other behavioral issues.

Rep. Karen McCarthy, D-Mo. (2003)

McCarthy sought treatment for alcoholism following a March 2003 incident in which she cut her forehead after slipping on an escalator in a House office building. She initially said she would not resign, but in December of that year McCarthy announced she would not run for a fifth term.

Rep. Phil Crane, R-Ill. (2000)

Crane, then the most senior Republican in the House, checked into a Maryland rehabilitation center in 2000 following an intervention from family, friends and fellow lawmakers regarding his drinking problem. While the episode may have cost him the chairmanship of the powerful Ways and Means Committee that year, he remained in office until losing his 2004 re-election bid.

Rep. Frederick Richmond, D-N.Y. (1982)

Richmond, a Brooklyn-based Democrat, resigned from Congress in August 1982 after pleading guilty to tax evasion and marijuana possession. The four-term congressman admitted to possessing several marijuana cigarettes obtained from members of his congressional staff.

Shiite Muslims gathered in Kabul last week to celebrate Ashura, one of the holiest days on their religious calendar. Hundreds of shirtless men chanted and flogged themselves with chains tipped with knife-like shards of metal.

In the past, these public Shiite commemorations have become targets of the Taliban and other Islamist extremists. In 2011, a suicide bomber killed 56 Shiites marking Ashura. But this year, security was particularly tight.

Shopkeeper Noor Aga said the celebration was magnificent, and he felt safe.

"Security is better compared to previous years in Afghanistan, but we cannot say our country is fully secure," he said through a translator. "There are provinces and cities that are very insecure."

Wardak province, just southwest of Kabul, is one. Zalmai, a civil servant who uses only one name, said there's no security there.

"I cannot go to my province because the roads are not safe," he said in Dari.

Zalmai, like many Afghans, said he doesn't think Afghan forces are ready to provide security without NATO support. And that support has been the subject of negotiations between U.S. and Afghan officials, who reached a compromise Tuesday on a security agreement that would allow some U.S. troops to stay in the country after 2014.

A special assembly of Afghan tribal and religious leaders convenes later this week to debate the agreement. If they reject it, it is likely that all U.S. and NATO troops will be out of Afghanistan by the end of next year.

Afghan Forces

This year has been a test case for Afghan forces. NATO handed over security duties last spring just as the annual Taliban offensive began. It was a campaign intended to demoralize Afghan forces and undermine public confidence in the military and the government.

U.S. Maj. Gen. James McConville assumed command of NATO forces in the east just as that spring offensive began.

"What I was concerned about as we came in, at least I was watching for, is as we brought our soldiers down, could the Afghans hold?" McConville said.

He says Afghan forces did hold their ground this year — but there's plenty of room for improvement.

"They're not winning by enough that the enemy is willing to stop fighting yet," he said.

Maj. Gen. Afzal Aman, head of operations in Afghanistan's Ministry of Defense, says Taliban fighters did not achieve their goals during this year's fighting season.

But, he says, Afghan forces still need help with logistics and air power, as well as continued training. That training will end next year unless there is a security agreement with the U.S.

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The email landed in my inbox at 7:01 Tuesday morning.

The subject line read, "NBC News Poll: Christie Trails Clinton In Hypothetical 2016 Match-Up, Faces Divided GOP."

My reaction when I got this breaking news with my first cup of coffee? A big, nonverbal, heavy sigh.

The headline correctly states that this is a "hypothetical" matchup. Oh, and if you are fan of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — not to worry. A different poll came out this week as well. That one has him leading Hillary Clinton 43-42. Within the margin of error, of course.

But neither is a candidate yet. The first contest — if nothing changes — will be the Iowa caucuses, likely in January. Not January of next year or the year after, but the year after that.

And the 2016 general election is more than 1,000 days away.

As for the accuracy of polls taken at such a very early stage? Just ask President Rudy Giuliani. In 2007 he still had high poll numbers due to his time as the take-charge mayor of New York on 9/11. Except he faded quickly once the GOP primaries got underway.

Or you might ask President Colin Powell, or President Mario Cuomo, both of whom decided in the end not to run. Or go ask President Gary Hart, or President Edmund Muskie, or President — well, I could go on.

Now, don't get me wrong. I cover politics full time. I'm fascinated by politics. I love elections, talking to voters, examining strategies. At some point, such polls will be meaningful, and we will study them closely. But I'm a very long way from walking into a diner or a community center in Iowa or New Hampshire and asking, "Who do you like for president, Christie or Clinton?" Or Biden, or Cruz, or Warren, or Santorum, or Paul, or Ryan, or Rubio, or — well, you get the picture.

I'm happy to take a breather for a while. I mean, there's no shortage of other issues to talk about, right?

College basketball seems to get started sooner every year, like puberty in American children. Why does everything have to begin so early now, before you have time to get ready for it?

Things move so fast in college basketball that there are three players this year who are being called "the next LeBron James. " In the NBA, most of the talk is already about where the superstars will be next season.

Because basketball involves so few players, the hot shots are more valuable, so it's like the Kardashians — not whom they're married to now, but whom they'll be married to next.

Click on the audio link above to hear Deford's take on this issue.