Pubdate: Fri, 20 Aug 1999 Source: New York Times (NY) Copyright: 1999 The New York Times Company Contact: http://www.nytimes.com/ Forum: http://www10.nytimes.com/comment/ BUSH SAYS PARENTS MUST WARN CHILDREN ABOUT DRUGS AND ALCOHOL By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS KRON, Ohio -- Gov. George W. Bush of Texas, holding the door shut on friday against questions about his past, said baby-boomer parents must warn their children about drugs and alcohol. "We owe children that responsibility -- to share our wisdom." The morning after the Republican presidential front-runner worried allies by abandoning his strategy to ignore have-you-ever questions about past drug usage, Bush calmly took reporters' questions at a homeless shelter that, among other things, offers treatment to drug users. The 53-year-old Bush refused to say what anti-drug message he might have given his own 17-year-old twin daughters -- "I'm going to leave my daughters out of the campaign," he said -- but did expound on the matter when the question was rephrased more generally. "One of the interesting questions facing Baby Boomers is, have we grown up? Are we willing to share the wisdom of past mistakes? ... I think a baby boomer parent ought to say -- 'I have learned from the mistakes I may or may not have made, and I'd like to share some wisdom with you and that is - -- don't do drugs."' Republicans and Democrats alike predicted Thursday, after Bush denied for the first time any illegal drug use dating back to 1974, that he had opened the door to persistent, embarrassing queries. "He should have stuck with, 'I'm not talking about it,"' said Democratic consultant Dave Brown of Washington. "The sharks won't ever stop circling now." Today, he was back on message. Asked if his experience over the past two days gave him any empathy for President Clinton, who has weathered his own share of personal scrutiny, Bush simply repeated almost verbatim what he had been saying for weeks: "I told the American people that years ago I made some mistakes. I've learned from those mistakes." What he learned this week, he said, is that "sometimes politics can be unnecessarily ugly." Under increasing pressure, Bush told reporters Thursday that he has not used illegal drugs in the past 25 years, declaring that if voters object to his refusal to reveal more "they can go find somebody else to vote for." He said he could have met the anti-drug standards of his father's White House, which inquired about an applicant's drug usage 15 years prior to background checks. President Bush served from 1989-93. A day earlier, Bush told The Dallas Morning News that he had not used drugs in the past seven years -- the time frame used in normal FBI background checks. The comments were a dramatic departure from Bush's long-stated objection to questions about his personal history. He is asked almost daily about illegal drug use, though there is no evidence or credible allegation that he has ever violated drug laws. Senior Bush advisers, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he decided to respond to the background check question after having aides clarify the precedent in the Bush White House. The Texas governor felt it was relevant to ask whether he could abide by the standards required of White House employees, aides said, and he hoped that staking out a 25-year time frame would settle any anxiety among voters. Political consultants expected the questions to persist, but predicted little harm would come to Bush's campaign in the end. "He's proven his early statement -- that once you engage, it doesn't stop the questions -- was right. His initial instincts on this were right," said GOP political consultant Ed Gillespie, who doesn't work for Bush. "Given the amount of fire, this will soon smolder," said Democratic consultant James Carville. "But as long as you have something smoldering, you can add fuel." Yet Carville, who has worked for Clinton, said people care little about such personal issues -- especially after the Monica Lewinsky affair "If all that didn't matter, I can't imagine what Bush might have stuck up his nose 20 years ago will move people one way or another," Carville said. Some rank-and-file Republicans are displaying signs of anxiety about Bush's background. Mike Francis, chairman of the Louisiana GOP, said party members eventually may seek more answers. "I don't think it's right as a leader of the state party to demand this or that (of candidates), but I do think it's a very interesting question that Louisiana Republican voters will very soon force a 'yes' or 'no' on," Francis said. Trying to keep GOP followers from getting jittery, the Bush campaign shipped "speaking points" to the offices of several lawmakers and governors. "What you are talking about is ALL rumor, gossip and worse," the memo read. Bush, confronting the first contretemps of his front-running campaign, may have inadvertently exposed himself to questions about drug use into his teens by saying he could "pass the background check and the standards" applied at the White House today. The Clinton administration requires the FBI to ask White House applicants about drug usage since their 18th birthdays. Bush refused to answer that question Thursday. "I am going to tell people I made mistakes and that I have learned from my mistakes. And if they like it, I hope they give me a chance. And if they don't like it, they can go find somebody else to vote for," Bush said. In a sign of things to come, he was asked at his next campaign stop about possible drug usage during his stint in the Texas Air National Guard from 1968-73. "I never would have done anything to endanger myself," he replied. - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart