BARBARA BUSH SAYS SHE, HUSBAND NEVER ASKED SON ABOUT COCAINE

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Barbara Bush says she and her husband never asked
their eldest son, Texas Gov. George W. Bush, if he has used cocaine.
"We had no need to," she said.

The former first lady told a Manchester, N.H., television station that
it was "fair" for the news media to question her son about possible
illegal drug use years ago, but she said he was right to refuse to go
into details.

"I am proud of the stand he has taken," she said. "The time has come
to say, `Enough.' Judge a man by what he has done."

It is irrelevant whether a presidential candidate ever used drugs,
Barbara Bush said, suggesting that the news media concentrate less on
personal matters.

"Twenty-five, 30 years ago? I don't think it matters," Barbara Bush
said. "That's ridiculous. Let's ask candidates about what they have
done" in public policy, pointing to her son's record as Texas governor.

Bush has acknowledged he once drank heavily and made "mistakes" in his
youth, but there has been no evidence or even credible allegation that
he ever has used cocaine or any other illegal drug.

When pressed on the matter, he gave varying answers and finally said
he had not used illegal drugs in the past 25 years.

In the interview with WMUR that aired Monday, Barbara Bush said she
and her husband, former President Bush, "never asked him. We had no
need to."