BUSH SHOULD ANSWER QUESTIONS ABOUT POSSIBLE DRUG USE

Hurricane Bret, which blew ashore on the Texas coast Sunday afternoon,
reminded me of a similar storm that hit the presidential campaign of Gov.
George W. Bush last week.

Both developed rather quickly, came in with a mighty roar, but then defied
predictions of esteemed forecasters and petered out before doing much
serious damage.

There will be residual effects from each -- a lot of rain from Bret, and
some kind of unknown fallout from the swirling controversy over the
question of whether Bush ever used cocaine.

The remnants of the tropical storm will be long gone in a few days, but for
weeks (maybe months), we'll still be debating the issue of the governor's
response, or nonresponse, to the drug question, and whether the media are
too intrusive in the lives of politicians and public figures.

Discussions in recent days have centered around a number of issues: Should
the question of drug use ever be asked (especially if it's about past
behavior long ago)? Should the governor answer the question? If he answers
in any way other than "no," should he be specific about "when," and should
he go into detail about "how long" and "how he managed to quit"?

Should a person who is governor, and one running for president of the
United States, be asked to reconcile such past "mistakes" with any public
policy he has championed or enforced?

For me, the answer is simple given the times and the new rules of the game.
And, as far as I can tell, Bush never objected to these new rules until he
became a candidate for public office.

I certainly don't like the idea of prying into a person's private life,
especially going back a quarter of a century.

In the case of Bush, however, we're not just talking about private
behavior; we're talking about the possible commission of a crime -- a
felony offense.

For one who preaches law and order, and especially for one who has effected
change in public policy dealing with drugs and crimes committed by youths,
Bush has a duty to answer this question straight up: Did you use cocaine?

Remember that TV commercial during his last campaign for governor? You know
the one, where he is seen with juvenile offenders in a detention center,
telling us that he is compassionate but, if they're old enough to do the
crime, they should do the time.

What about their "youthful indiscretions"?

Then, there was the commercial from the 1994 campaign against Ann Richards,
in which Bush told us, "We can right the wrongs in Texas if guided by one
basic principle: Individuals should be responsible and accountable for
their actions."

Well, governor, we're asking you to be accountable on this important issue.
We're not asking that you be punished, go to jail or have any privileges
taken away that you would deny to others, but we do want to hear you answer
the question directly and completely.

Bush's actions as governor on the issue of drug abuse demand that he come
clean.

This governor has signed into law bills that cut in half the number of drug
treatment beds for Texas prisoners; deny benefits to welfare recipients who
use drugs; repeal the automatic probation for those possessing less than 1
gram of cocaine or heroin; and make it possible for youngsters who
possessed drugs to lose their drive r's licenses.

He wants to be tough on the drug user. He wants to make examples of those
who abuse drugs. He wants to be left alone when it comes to his own
possible use or abuse.

Bush can't have it both ways. It is sanctimonious hypocrisy and double
standards that upset me.

Our jails are full of young people who made simple mistakes, maybe the same
kind of mistakes this governor has made.

I want to know what a man running for president says to them and their
families about responsibility and accountability, when that same man
refuses to even answer a simple question about his background.

Answer the question, governor, and then move on.