US PUBLIC UNMOVED BY BUSH'S STANCE ON DRUG USE

A POLL published yesterday suggests that the United States public is
unconcerned about Texas Governor George W Bush's refusal to answer
questions about his past drug use - and would not be concerned even if
he did admit to taking cocaine.

Mr Bush, the leading contender for the Republican party's nomination
for next year's election, has struggled in recent days with questions
about whether he took drugs in his youth. He has so far refused to
confirm or deny suggestions that he used cocaine while in his 20s, a
stance which has brought criticism from his political opponents and
the US media.

But the poll, carried out at the weekend, showed that 53 per cent of
Americans thought Mr Bush should not answer questions about his
personal behaviour. Seventy nine per cent said that it would not
affect their vote if he refused to answer.

Perhaps more interestingly, 84 per cent of respondents said they would
not change their vote if Mr Bush had indeed used cocaine, an apparent
level of tolerance at odds with the attention afforded the issue by
press and politicians.

Only 11 per cent of Americans responding to the International
Communications Research poll for ABC News said that they would be less
likely to vote for Mr Bush, 53, if he had indeed taken cocaine.

The public's seeming indifference to Mr Bush's past behaviour is in
keeping with the experience of the Monica Lewinsky saga, and President
Bill Clinton's subsequent impeachment trial.

Then, despite months of lurid, detailed reports of Mr Clinton's
infidelity, and the repeated attacks of his political enemies, public
support for the president remained buoyant. The public, it emerged,
were less concerned about Mr Clinton's personal conduct than his
record on issues of policy, most notably the economy.

Indeed, Mr Clinton has enjoyed remarkable personal popularity despite
a number of scandals involving extramarital affairs and his own
youthful cannabis use, when he famously claimed "I didn't inhale".

Stephen Hess, a political analyst at the Brookings Institute in
Washington, agreed that the US public was much less moved by personal
conduct than politicians and journalists.

"It's not that the US people don't love trashy stories - look at trash
TV and supermarket tabloids. But that's not the way they vote.

"It's almost as if the two issues of personal behaviour and delivering
successful policies are on entirely separate tracks. And this time,
the people do seem to be ahead of the media on the issue."

The poll also indicated that Mr Bush's lead over his fellow Republican
aspirants remains considerable. Among Republican supporters, whose
votes are vital to candidates seeking the party's nomination for the
presidency, he is the first choice of 56 per cent. His closest rival,
Elizabeth Dole, was the first choice of only 14 per cent.

Observers are now speculating that Mr Bush might take advantage of his
current popularity to clear the air and make an open confession that
he did indeed use drugs, to prevent the unanswered question returning
to haunt his final campaign, and if victorious, his presidency.

Already this week, Lincoln Chafee, a Republican candidate for the US
senate, has confessed that he used cocaine while a university student.

The White House was drawn into the debate yesterday, as Mr Clinton's
aides denied the president had ever used cocaine.

The denial followed a television interview with Gennifer Flowers, who
claimed she had a long-term affair with Mr Clinton in the 1980s. Ms
Flowers alleged that the president told her he had taken cocaine.

The White House flatly denied the claim. "The president has never done
cocaine," said a spokesman. "That applies to his entire life."