DASCHLE CRITICIZES MEDIA ON COVERAGE OF GOV. BUSH'S PAST

August 5, 1999 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle
challenged the news media Wednesday to check out rumors of cocaine use by
Texas Gov. George W. Bush, the Republican presidential front-runner.

Daschle accused the media of having a double standard, observing that
reporters press First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton about private aspects of
her life but "seem to accept" Bush's evasive answers to questions about cocaine.

"The media in general seem to be respecting far more his privacy and his
lack of willingness to discuss his past than you might have been with
others," Daschle said.

Bush repeatedly has declined to discuss cocaine or deny that he used the
drug when asked by reporters about rumors of drug use in his past. He
frequently seeks to end the discussion by saying, "When I was young and
crazy, I was young and crazy."

Daschle (D-S.D.) said Bush is trying to walk the fine line between his
public and private life and "may or may not be successful at it."

Daschle added that he himself has never used cocaine:

"Let me just say for the record: You have a right to ask me, and the answer
is no."