BUSH DECLARES HE HASN'T USED ANY DRUGS IN THE LAST 7 YEARS

Gov. George W. Bush steadfastly refused Wednesday to answer questions about
whether he used cocaine in his youth, but later said that he had not used
any drugs in the last seven years.

Bush faced another day of persistent questions about whether he ever used
drugs, with another Republican governor and key Bush supporter -- as well
as an unrelenting drumbeat from Democrats and the national media --
demanding that he do so.

Later, Bush changed his response after The Dallas Morning News questioned
him about the requirement that federal employees answer questions about
drug use to get high-level security clearances.

"As I understand it, the current form asks the question, `Did somebody use
drugs within the last seven years?' and I will be glad to answer that
question, and the answer is `No,' " the News, in a story for its editions
today, quoted Bush as saying in New Orleans.

Bush, who is 53, would not elaborate beyond the seven-year time frame. He
said that if elected, he would make no change in the federal policy that
requires high-level presidential appointees to answer questions about drug
use in the standard FBI background check.

"It's a legitimate question to ask to make sure there are no drug users on
the White House staff," Bush told the newspaper. But, he added, "The
president should recognize that some people may have made mistakes when
they were younger, and the question the president must ask is did they
learn from those mistakes and will they not repeat them again."

Before leaving for a Louisiana campaign swing, Bush held an Austin news
conference to introduce the state's new education commissioner. But Bush
was peppered with renewed questions about past drug use following a Dallas
Morning News story and a New York Times opinion column that reviewed the
controversy over the governor's refusal to "catalog my past."

Bush turned testy at the state Capitol. "You know what happens," he said,
interrupting a reporter's question. "Somebody floats a rumor and it causes
you to ask a question. And that's the game in American politics and I
refuse to play it. That is a game and you just fell for the trap and I
refuse to play."

No evidence of his purported use of cocaine or other illegal drugs has
surfaced. Bush has acknowledged drinking too much, until he quit after his
40th birthday.

Bush's refusal to answer any questions about alleged illicit drug use has
become fodder for political opponents. Wednesday, it became fodder for at
least one supporter as well.

"George W. Bush should address issues about private conduct," Gov. Frank
Keating of Oklahoma said. "In today's world, every one of us who serves in
public office needs to answer questions about conduct that is arguably
criminal."

Keating, chairman of the Republican Governors Association and an
enthusiastic Bush supporter, stressed that he "doesn't think there's
anything there" in Bush's background. Keating added that whatever misdeeds
Bush may have committed "were largely carousing in nature."

Bush said in Austin he does not know who started the rumors of cocaine use
and does not recall his campaign pinning the blame on wealthy magazine
publisher Steve Forbes, a competitor for the GOP presidential nomination.

"Do I think they're being planted?" he said. "I know they're being planted.
And they're ridiculous and they're absurd, and the people of America are
sick and tired of this kind of politics. And I'm not participating."

When asked if his responses amount to a denial, Bush apparently started to
respond, saying, "I'm ... "

But he left his response hanging there, and turned to another topic.

The highlight of Bush's campaign day was supposed to be a tour of a
Jefferson Parish, La., elementary school at which private businesses have
helped provide computers and paid for Internet connections. Bush promotes
that kind of private-public partnership as a centerpiece of his Republican
campaign.

Bush also said in Louisiana that he may not participate in the state's
nominating caucus unless the state party can guarantee a fair process.

"If the system is not open and the rules are fuzzy, and if it's hard to
find places where people can vote, I just think I'm going to shy away,"
Bush said. "If it's an open process where people can participate, then I
will participate."

Bush said he would rely on the advice of his newly appointed state chairman
in Louisiana, GOP Gov. Mike Foster. Foster, who was traveling the state
with Bush, said details for the as-yet unscheduled Louisiana caucuses
remain uncertain.

Foster, however, is facing larger problems at home than vagaries in the
caucus system. Today he is scheduled to testify before the State Board of
Ethics for failing to report on campaign finance reports his 1995 purchase
of former Klansman and congressional candidate David Duke's list of
political supporters. Foster is expected to be fined.

Bush said he did not know the facts but called Foster "my kinda guy," while
he disparaged Duke.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.