ELIZABETH DOLE SLAMS DRUG POLICY, MUM ON ALLEGED DRUG USE BY OPPONENT

IRVINE, Calif. (AP) -- Buoyant after a strong showing in last week's Iowa
Straw Poll, Republican presidential candidate Elizabeth Dole took aim
Thursday at what she called President Clinton's failed drug policy.

"I think it's time we make very clear that there are certain things worth
fighting for. ... I think it's wrong when we continue to coddle countries
that are the gateway to drugs," she told about 50 supporters, mostly women,
attending an Orange County fund-raiser.

Although she had strong words for Clinton about drugs, she refused to
comment on allegations that the GOP's top presidential contender, George W.
Bush, used illegal drugs.

"I think he has to speak for himself," she said in a news conference after
the event. "I am really not going to be drawn into commenting on other
candidates, because I want to run a positive campaign and focus on Elizabeth
Dole's credentials."

But Mrs. Dole did say media investigations into a candidate's personal life
were pushing people away from considering public office.

"I think there are a lot of people ... who just feel they don't want to put
themselves or their family through that," she said. "People really are being
turned off, and a lot of people in America are not willing to subject their
families to it."

Mrs. Dole finished third in the straw poll behind Bush and millionaire Steve
Forbes, respectively.

The Orange County fund-raiser, one of 46 such events in the next month, was
expected to raise about $25,000 for the campaign, much needed contributions
in her campaign to win the nomination against two well-financed opponents.

During the 30-minute speech to supporters, Mrs. Dole singled out Mexico in
the war on drugs, saying the country had failed to stem the flow of drugs.
She said 60 percent of the drugs in the United States came from Mexico.

"There are a whole array of tools that can be used," Mrs. Dole said. "I
think working with the leaders -- leader to leader -- can be useful. But you
also have a whole arsenal of tools that can be used."

But when pressed for details about her proposed policy, she said she did not
yet have one available.

"I don't think most people expect you to have all the details of what you
would do with Mexico when you're not even president at this point. At the
appropriate time, you make the decision," she said.

But Mrs. Dole also said she was one of the only candidates to come out with
specifics on many of her proposals, including a 10-point plan for the
country's agriculture industry and a strong stance about U.S. involvement in
Kosovo.