The uproar about whether George W. Bush used cocaine highlights the
primary Republican indiscretion of middle and old age: hypocrisy.
Whether Mr. Bush was a youthful user of illegal drugs is not the core
issue, especially with a constituency that has largely forgiven him,
innocent or guilty. The correct issue is that Republican criminals who
weren't caught now support and apply Draconian penalties against our
present youth for indiscretions of all sorts.

Further, their hypocrisy confuses priorities. Most drug abusers and
adulterers do well in later life. Some are qualified to be president.
The Republican obsession with lesser indiscretions obscures those that
are more dangerous -- those that undermine our capitalism and freedom.

I would rather see more attention paid to bankers who launder money
for Russian criminals and to campaign contributors who really are
paying bribes than to Gov. Bush's rumored drug use. And if some
Republicans are so concerned about the privacy of Gov. Bush's
indiscreet youth, are they equally concerned about government and
commercial intrusions into the privacy of every other American? I
think not. We now have drugs against impotence. It's too bad there are
no drugs against the Republican indiscretion of middle and old age.

William Cline,
Washington