BUSH SAYS PARENTS MUST WARN CHILDREN ABOUT DRUGS AND ALCOHOL

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

KRON, Ohio -- Gov. George W. Bush of Texas, holding the door shut on friday
against questions about his past, said baby-boomer parents must warn their
children about drugs and alcohol. "We owe children that responsibility --
to share our wisdom."

The morning after the Republican presidential front-runner worried allies
by abandoning his strategy to ignore have-you-ever questions about past
drug usage, Bush calmly took reporters' questions at a homeless shelter
that, among other things, offers treatment to drug users.

The 53-year-old Bush refused to say what anti-drug message he might have
given his own 17-year-old twin daughters -- "I'm going to leave my
daughters out of the campaign," he said -- but did expound on the matter
when the question was rephrased more generally.

"One of the interesting questions facing Baby Boomers is, have we grown up?
Are we willing to share the wisdom of past mistakes? ... I think a baby
boomer parent ought to say -- 'I have learned from the mistakes I may or
may not have made, and I'd like to share some wisdom with you and that is
- -- don't do drugs."'

Republicans and Democrats alike predicted Thursday, after Bush denied for
the first time any illegal drug use dating back to 1974, that he had opened
the door to persistent, embarrassing queries.

"He should have stuck with, 'I'm not talking about it,"' said Democratic
consultant Dave Brown of Washington. "The sharks won't ever stop circling
now."

Today, he was back on message. Asked if his experience over the past two
days gave him any empathy for President Clinton, who has weathered his own
share of personal scrutiny, Bush simply repeated almost verbatim what he
had been saying for weeks: "I told the American people that years ago I
made some mistakes. I've learned from those mistakes."

What he learned this week, he said, is that "sometimes politics can be
unnecessarily ugly."

Under increasing pressure, Bush told reporters Thursday that he has not
used illegal drugs in the past 25 years, declaring that if voters object to
his refusal to reveal more "they can go find somebody else to vote for."

He said he could have met the anti-drug standards of his father's White
House, which inquired about an applicant's drug usage 15 years prior to
background checks. President Bush served from 1989-93.

A day earlier, Bush told The Dallas Morning News that he had not used drugs
in the past seven years -- the time frame used in normal FBI background
checks.

The comments were a dramatic departure from Bush's long-stated objection to
questions about his personal history. He is asked almost daily about
illegal drug use, though there is no evidence or credible allegation that
he has ever violated drug laws.

Senior Bush advisers, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he decided
to respond to the background check question after having aides clarify the
precedent in the Bush White House.

The Texas governor felt it was relevant to ask whether he could abide by
the standards required of White House employees, aides said, and he hoped
that staking out a 25-year time frame would settle any anxiety among voters.

Political consultants expected the questions to persist, but predicted
little harm would come to Bush's campaign in the end.

"He's proven his early statement -- that once you engage, it doesn't stop
the questions -- was right. His initial instincts on this were right," said
GOP political consultant Ed Gillespie, who doesn't work for Bush.

"Given the amount of fire, this will soon smolder," said Democratic
consultant James Carville. "But as long as you have something smoldering,
you can add fuel."

Yet Carville, who has worked for Clinton, said people care little about
such personal issues -- especially after the Monica Lewinsky affair

"If all that didn't matter, I can't imagine what Bush might have stuck up
his nose 20 years ago will move people one way or another," Carville said.

Some rank-and-file Republicans are displaying signs of anxiety about Bush's
background. Mike Francis, chairman of the Louisiana GOP, said party members
eventually may seek more answers.

"I don't think it's right as a leader of the state party to demand this or
that (of candidates), but I do think it's a very interesting question that
Louisiana Republican voters will very soon force a 'yes' or 'no' on,"
Francis said.

Trying to keep GOP followers from getting jittery, the Bush campaign
shipped "speaking points" to the offices of several lawmakers and
governors. "What you are talking about is ALL rumor, gossip and worse," the
memo read.

Bush, confronting the first contretemps of his front-running campaign, may
have inadvertently exposed himself to questions about drug use into his
teens by saying he could "pass the background check and the standards"
applied at the White House today.

The Clinton administration requires the FBI to ask White House applicants
about drug usage since their 18th birthdays. Bush refused to answer that
question Thursday.

"I am going to tell people I made mistakes and that I have learned from my
mistakes. And if they like it, I hope they give me a chance. And if they
don't like it, they can go find somebody else to vote for," Bush said.

In a sign of things to come, he was asked at his next campaign stop about
possible drug usage during his stint in the Texas Air National Guard from
1968-73.

"I never would have done anything to endanger myself," he replied.