BUSH WHACKERS HIT

Rudy Rips Press Over George W. Drug Issue

Mayor Giuliani yesterday launched a blazing defense of embattled Texas Gov.
George W. Bush by denouncing the media as "voyeurs" for pressing the
presidential candidate on whether he has used cocaine. "Pursuing people's
personal lives has become a sickness, and it's going to hurt ultimately in
getting the right people in politics," Giuliani admonished reporters at
City Hall.

Bush, the Republican presidential front-runner, repeatedly has refused to
flatly admit — or deny — having used cocaine. But under intensified media
questioning last week, Bush indicated he hadn't used illegal drugs for at
least 25 years.

Giuliani — a former federal prosecutor who built his career on a tough
law-and-order philosophy — accused reporters of digging into candidates'
private lives "because it's fun and it makes news and it sells newspapers.

"I think this is voyeurism, not legitimate pursuit of issues," the
Republican mayor and probable U.S. Senate candidate fumed when asked about
the Bush situation.

The purpose of the media grilling, the mayor argued, is "hounding people
who are in public office."

Giuliani, who has praised, but not formally endorsed, Bush's candidacy,
argued that the campaign should focus on the job Bush has done as governor
of Texas and what Bush says he would do as President.

"I respect the decisions that Gov. Bush has made about his own privacy,"
Giuliani added.

Asked if he had used pot or cocaine, the mayor noted that he has answered
"no" to that question.

But he said he now regrets having answered because, "it's really none of
your business if I did or I didn't."

President Clinton — who as a candidate said he tried marijuana but didn't
inhale — also was drawn into the drug debate yesterday. At the President's
vacation retreat on Martha's Vineyard, White House spokesman Joe Lockhart
confirmed published reports that Clinton has denied ever using cocaine.

With First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton nursing a cold, the First Family
spent yesterday relaxing at their 20-acre oceanside Vineyard retreat.

The Clintons have no public events scheduled for the remainder of their
week-long stay on the Massachusetts resort island.