BUSH-BASHING CONTINUES AFTER DEBATE

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- A day after the Republican presidential debate, Steve
Forbes escalated his attack on the front-runner, Gov. George W. Bush of
Texas, by mocking Bush's responses to questions about whether he had used
drugs.

Another rival, Sen. John McCain, praised Bush but at the same time showcased
several defectors from the Bush camp who said they had come to consider the
governor too scripted and untested.

The maneuvering in the nation's first primary state stepped up the pace of
the Republican race, with the candidates set to compete again in two more
debates this month in Arizona and Iowa. In their own way, each of the Texas
governor's main rivals tried to chip away at his aura of invincibility.

A day after Bush produced an article Forbes had written 22 years years ago
calling for the Social Security retirement age to be raised, the wealthy
publisher replied by renewing questions about whether Bush used illegal
drugs at some point in his youth.

Over the summer, in response to repeated questioning, Bush danced around the
issue, saying only that when his father was president he could have passed a
White House background check for drugs going back 15 years. That suggested
that Bush had not used drugs at least since 1974.

However, Bush has acknowledged, "I did some irresponsible things when I was
young and irresponsible."

Forbes, a wealthy publisher, paraphrased the line, to make the point that he
no longer believes that the Social Security retirement age should be raised,
no matter what he had written in 1977. "When I was young and irresponsible,"
he said, "I was young and irresponsible and, unlike some, I grew from that
initial position and clearly some are still stuck in it."

Bush refused to rise to the bait. "I've answered that question," he said at
his own news conference. "I've talked about all I'm going to talk about."