AT LEAST 2 NEWSPAPERS PULL DOONESBURY INSTALLMENT

KANSAS CITY, MO. -- At least two newspapers pulled an installment of Garry
Trudeau's "Doonesbury" cartoon because a character accuses Republican
presidential candidate George W. Bush of cocaine use.

An editor at its distributor, Universal Press Syndicate, said readers
should consider the character making the allegation: Duke, the candidate
whose mind has been scrambled by years of alcohol and drug use.

In Wednesday's strip, Duke -- upset by polls that show him receiving 0
percent of the vote -- is told that voters have concerns about his lifestyle.

He responds: "What about Dubya's? He's got a history of alcohol abuse and
cocaine!"

Bush, responding to questions during the primary season, said he had not
used any illegal drug in the past 25 years, but he would not elaborate. No
evidence has surfaced that he used cocaine.

Bush spokesman Dan Bartlett said: "We certainly believe every journalist is
entitled to their opinion. However we do believe this is a little over the
line."

The St. Paul Pioneer Press pulled Wednesday's strip and also will pull
today's, managing editor Vicki Gowler said.

"I pulled the two that stated flat-out that George Bush abused cocaine,"
she said. "I don't think there has been evidence reported to date that he has."

The San Antonio Express News also pulled Wednesday's strip, said Kathie
Kerr, a spokeswoman for Universal Press Syndicate. Universal Press
Syndicate distributes the strip to 1,400 newspapers, including to the Star
Tribune, which ran the installments.

The Express-News said in an editorial that it would publish today's strip,
in which Duke notes that Bush has never denied using cocaine.

Nader: He rejects pleas to support Gore

Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader campaigned through key
battleground states in the Midwest before young, enthusiastic audiences
Wednesday, spending much of his time lashing out at liberal critics who
claim his third party presidential bid will throw the election to Bush.

Rejecting Democratic pleas to avoid campaigning in states crucial to Vice
President Al Gore, Nader told a cheering crowd of 1,500 on the steps of the
Wisconsin Capitol in Madison: "Al Gore thinks we are supposed to be helping
him to get elected. I've got news for Al Gore. If he can't beat that
bumbling Texan with that terrible record, he shouldn't be running."

Growing increasingly defiant during his Midwest swing, Nader said: "I'll be
very sorry if either of them is elected."

Clinton: He'll test his clout in California

Meanwhile, Clinton addressed an enthusiastic crowd of Democratic faithful
in Louisville, Ky. "Thanks for showing up to hear a guy who isn't running
for anything," Clinton said.

Today, he's scheduled to arrive in California in an effort to get
desperately needed votes for Gore.

Clinton's blitz of fund-raisers and rallies will be a test of his
continuing clout in California, where recent polls showed him with 63
percent job approval. Although the Gore camp has called on Clinton only
sparingly, the president's presence in the West was requested by California
Democrats as Gore dipped in polls in states he was expected to win easily.