READERS SPEAK OUT ON BUSH, HIS PAST AND THE RIGHT TO KNOW

Do you think the public has a right to know about whether presidential
candidate George W. Bush used drugs in the past? That was our question
on the charlotte.com forum on Friday. Here are some of the responses.
Post additional comments at www.charlotte.com .

What anyone did over 25 years ago is irrelevant to what that person
can do now. I would rather have an experienced legislator with some
intelligence and some sense of decency who may have done things in his
youth that he now regrets rather than some uneducated, inexperienced,
"holier than thou" individual. To paraphrase an old saying, "Show me
someone who has not made some mistakes and I'll show you someone who
has not done anything."

I believe it's media bias. . . . It's not surprising that questions
that were taboo to ask Clinton, are now being asked of the leading
Republican candidate. Stop the bias and start reporting the news,
without the slanted comments . . .

Yes, we have a right to know if any candidate used drugs in past. If a
candidate admitted using in distant past I would still vote for him,
if I thought he were best in race. If he lied about it or refused to
answer like Bush then I would not vote for him. No, the media is not
overreacting on this.

The questions should not be about what happened 25 years ago or
longer, but "What is the state of the state in Texas?" Was he an
effective governor, did he do the right thing for the people of Texas?
Is he qualified to be president? What are his views on education,
taxes, crime and other issues facing America?

Everyone should remember that possession of even the tiniest amounts
of cocaine is a felony. . . . George W. pretends that we should forget
this behavior. The jails are full of people who made the same argument
in court.

George Bush needs to give us the truth plain and simple. He claims the
public doesn't want to know. We'll, I'm the public and I want to know.
If he did, so what! It might help him in that people would see him as
human. The real question is not whether he used drugs 25 years ago or
not. The question is, will he be honest on all subjects? Just answer
the question and let's go on with life. He gives people the feeling he
has something to hide, and if he does that on such a small question of
his past, what will he do on a national issue?

I feel the media gave Bill Clinton a pass on everything in his past
and present. They only talked about his bad deeds when they absolutely
had to and did it as quickly as possible. Why are they dwelling on
this stuff now? It seems the media hype has caused a lot of people to
believe that he is guilty, without any admissions. Unfortunately this
will . . . be a lasting topic. The media should concentrate on whether
his adult life has been worthy of being elected, and not what he may
or may not have done in private. It is not the public's business. I
care about how a candidate has lived his adult life in terms of his
profession and his commitment to his family and community, not what he
did in his or her past. Everyone has made poor decisions in their
youth which they learn from and move on. Once again the media is
trying to turn nothing into something. If it wasn't this, it would be
something else. Frankly, I applaud the man for refusing to discuss it
more. It was over 20 years ago. Let's look at what he can do for our
country, not what he did as a youngster. Isn't it time we deal with
the present and forget the past? It seems to me that we made the
mistake of dealing with Clinton's past during his election. If we'd
paid attention to his present behavior and pastimes, maybe we, as a
nation, would have made a more educated decision and voted for the
more ethical candidate. Let's learn from the past, not dwell on it!