JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION

After some dispiriting years in American politics brought on in large part
by the personal recklessness of President Clinton, one would have hoped that
the 2000 presidential campaign could be conducted in a more ennobling
manner. Apparently, that's not going to happen.

The campaign was consumed last week not with matters of America's future but
with questions of Texas Gov. George W. Bush's past, specifically whether he
ever used cocaine.

Should this matter? The nation has made quite clear through two elections of
Clinton that it is quite willing to overlook personal failings and character
flaws as long as it is confident that a person is equipped to handle the
difficult job of the presidency. But the public was also served by knowing
about the content of Clinton's character.

Bush, for his part, has been forthcoming about some aspects of his own
background. When he was young and irresponsible, he has said, he behaved
young and irresponsibly. He has admitted that at one time he had a problem
with alcohol, and says he has not had a drop of liquor in more than a
decade. He has offered the information that he has been faithful to his wife.

But he has refused to answer questions about the use of illegal drugs. Such
rumors are "ridiculous and absurd," he said one day. Another day, he said
that he could have passed a White House background check when his father was
president. He has said many things, but he has not simply answered the
question. In so doing he has left the press and public to play a guessing
game with the apparent answer that, yes indeed, at some time he used illegal
drugs.

Mr. Bush should just answer the question. If he used illegal drugs, just
spell it out and let the public make its judgment.

Most people are willing to forgive youthful mistakes. In the case of the
roguish Clinton, they have forgiven some adult mistakes. What people should
not have to endure is another president who believes he can con them with
carefully parsed answers intended to evade or mislead. That is the most
troubling aspect of the last week, that George W. Bush has run the risk of
sounding Clintonesque.

Now, Clinton has made a career out of being too clever by half; Bush, to his
credit, has not. Bush could go a long way toward restoring public faith in
its leaders by offering simple, declarative answers in this campaign, even
when the questions are distasteful.