BUSH ADDRESSES N.M. TOPICS

Texas Gov. George W. Bush said Wednesday he opposes drug legalization
and supports increased security at the U.S.-Mexico border.

He said he has a plan for winning the Hispanic vote in November and
supports local choice on school vouchers.

Bush talked about these and other issues in a 20-minute interview with
the Journal when he took time out from a fast-paced presidential
campaign tour of Albuquerque.

Bush sipped coffee and readily answered questions at the Wyndham Hotel
in Albuquerque, shortly before his 9 a.m. speech in Albuquerque's
Southeast Heights.

Here is the transcript of the conversation:

Question: You have called for a reduction in the U.S. nuclear arsenal.
What role do you think nuclear weapons should have in our national
security policy and what role would the national laboratories in New
Mexico (Los Alamos and Sandia) play in that policy?

Bush: So long as there is nuclear weaponry, the United States will
have a nuclear force that is ready and able to respond. So there would
still be the notion of deterrence.

The levels of weaponry need to be determined by military planners, who
will be given a post-Cold War view of reality.

The targeting that exists today exists as if we are in the Cold War,
targeting Russia, for example. Russia is not the enemy anymore. The
enemy really is the unknown. We are not sure where the threats will
come from.

But so long as we have a nuclear arsenal, it will be secure, safe and
ready to use -- and that is where the labs come in. The labs will also
come in because I will propose today more research and development
dollars to help come up with a strategy to reconfigure the armed
forces of America. The military needs to be lighter, harder to find
and more lethal, all based upon new technologies. The labs will play
an important role there as well.

Question: As a Republican governor, you've had great success in Texas
with Hispanic voters. What is your strategy for duplicating that
success in a national election?

Bush: I've got some stereotypes I've got to battle. Some Hispanic
voters in other states say, "You're a Republican," and they say, "He
doesn't care about me." So the first thing I've got to do is show
people I've got a heart and a vision that includes, as I say, every
willing heart.

I think I can make great inroads in the Hispanic community when I talk
about my passion for educating every child. I've got a record in Texas
of working with Republicans and Democrats, and the (school) test
scores prove that we are really making great progress with our
Hispanic youngsters.

I'm an entrepreneur. I was a small-business owner. There are 600,000
Latino-owned small businesses in California, and it shows there is a
common ground.

I've got to make it clear my support for NAFTA and tout my relations
with Mexico. I've got great relations with (Mexican) President
(Ernesto) Zedillo.

Crime issues -- I think the Latino community understands my strong
desire to enforce laws on the books. I'll be aggressive about pursuing
folks who break the law.

Question: What is your position on border control?

Bush: We've got to enforce the border. We need more border patrol
agents. We need to modernize the crossing points. I support Operation
Hold the Line. I'm very mindful of why people are coming -- they are
coming to find work.

I view border policy this way: For the short term it's border
enforcement, more agents, more focus. Long term it's NAFTA, trade.

As Mexico develops a middle class, as the prosperity moves from the
northern (Mexico) states down to central and, hopefully, southern
Mexico, there will be less need for people to come here because they
will be able to find work closer to home.

Question: Roughly 35 percent of New Mexico land is owned by the
federal government. How do you feel about federal land ownership and
forest policies?

Bush: It's a phenomenon experienced throughout the West. We have very
little foreign ownership of land in Texas.

Land management issues are, in my way of thinking, best balanced by
including local folks in any decision made at the federal level. Local
stakeholders need to be a part of the decision-making process.

The idea of unilaterally removing millions of acres of forest land
through a road policy, I wouldn't have done it that way. I would have
worked with the members of the congressional delegation and local
folks to balance the needs of the timber industry and the recreation
industry with the environment.

I'm sure there are some lands that need to be preserved, and that's
great, but preservation doesn't have to exclude, or preclude, a way of
life that has developed over the years. I doubt I'd sell it (federally
owned land), but I'd make sure it was used properly.

Question: New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson has proposed legalizing drugs,
starting with marijuana, because he says our drug war is a failure.
What do you think of the governor's proposal, and what are your ideas
on U.S. drug policy?

Bush: I don't support legalization. I support a focused effort on
reducing demand, and it starts with focusing on telling parents that
drugs are going to kill their kids.

This isn't the '60s -- there is a new epidemic going on in America, and
there is a correlation between marijuana and eventual heroin use. I
think we are beginning to realize that.

The heroin epidemic evidently in New Mexico is strong. We've had a
heroin problem in the suburbs of Dallas, Texas, in Plano.

Parents need to be working with their kids. We need to have
character-based education programs in schools. There needs to be a
focused effort to say to kids, "Drugs will destroy you." I think
legalization sends another message.

At the same time we've got to work on interdiction. The Mexican
government has a good point: They say part of the issue if there
wasn't any demand there would be no need for supply. It's a two-way
street, and I think we ought to focus on demand reduction. We had some
success in America in the late 1980s, and now we need to refocus. I
think we can do the same thing and reduce demand for drugs.

Question: Does the U.S. need to commit more resources to interdiction?

Bush: On interdiction, yeah. On the border, whether its people or
drugs, we need to do a better job of enforcing the border.

Question: If you were elected president, how would your administration
approach the issue of school choice, or vouchers?

Bush: I don't think we ought to be telling New Mexico to have a
voucher program or not. I'm a local-control person. The federal
government's role is not to be dictating to states, "You will do this,
you will do that."

But I believe we can help reform movements by giving flexibility with
federal money. Ask this question: What are the results? You, the
state, have to show us, you, the state or the districts, must set
standards, measure and show us whether or not the children are learning.

If they are not, if the schools won't change and the children are
stuck in failed schools, then the federal money -- over which I'll have
some say -- will not go to continue to subsidize failure. It will go to
the parent. And the parent can make different choices. This is a
program with a consequence tied to accountability.

When it comes to charter schools, I believe states ought to decide if
they want to be a charter state or not, but the federal government
could and should enhance capital improvements -- the building of
buildings -- by enhancing loans. I support the idea of choice and
charters, but in the context of local control of schools.