BUSH JNR DODGES THE DRUG QUESTION

GEORGE W BUSH, the leading Republican candidate for the presidential
election next year, is fending off persistent questions about whether he has
ever used drugs.

Mr Bush says the issue is irrelevant and that what he did in his youth is
not germane to the elections. But the formulation he is using to answer the
question is wearing thin, and his patience - not one of his strongest suits
- - seems to be similarly frayed.

At a news conference yesterday in Austin, Texas, Mr Bush became irritated by
the questioning. "Somebody floats a rumour and it causes you to ask a
question, and that's the game in American politics, and I refuse to play
it," he snapped. "That is a game. You just fell for the trap. I refuse to
play." The questions are "ridiculous and they're absurd, and the people of
America are sick and tired of this kind of politics. And I'm not
participating," he said.

At one point, asked about rumours that he had used cocaine, he said: "I
think they are being planted." But he did not deny them, nor did he say who
he thought was behind them.

When asked about drug use, he repeats essentially the same formula: "I was
young and irresponsible and I behaved young and irresponsibly," he has said
when asked point-blank whether he has ever taken drugs.

But by dodging the question he leaves room for his political opponents to
attack him. "I think it would be wrong for any possible Republican
presidential nominee to refuse to say clearly and distinctly that they've
not used drugs," said the religious conservative Gary Bauer, one of Mr
Bush's rivals.

The New York Daily News asked all the presidential candidates whether any
had ever used cocaine. Eleven said they had not: one, Mr Bush, refused to
answer.

Nobody has provided any evidence that Mr Bush has ever used any illegal
drug. But rumours - sporadically repeated in the media, and the subject of
constant gossip wherever reporters covering Mr Bush gather - have been rife.
Mr Bush's refusal to put a stop to them has stoked the rumour mill.

The press started out liking Mr Bush and his staff greatly, but tensions
have begun to develop in the past few weeks as he has looked increasingly
unstoppable politically. There have also been accusations from Democrats
that whereas Hillary Rodham Clinton, the President's wife, was constantly
faced with hard questions, Mr Bush had been given an easy ride.

The hagiographic press coverage of Mr Bush has started to turn nasty in the
past few days, especially after his victory in the Ames straw poll in Iowa
on Saturday. "If there was any message in Ames for Bush it is that he will
not win the nomination by default. He'll have to work for it," said the Los
Angeles Times in a comment representative of the media's mood.

The independent counsel investigation of President Bill Clinton will
continue, even though Kenneth Starr, the independent prosecutor, is likely
to resign soon. The judicial panel that appoints special counsels yesterday
split on the issue, but a majority of judges voted to keep the inquiry
alive. Mr Starr is reported to have suggested successors.