Q&A WITH ERNIE FLETCHER 'WE'RE VERY PASSIONATE'

Republican Thinks He Can Bring Needed Changes

Ernie Fletcher needles his opponent, Ben Chandler, for being a "career
politician," but his own political career is doing just fine.

Fletcher, the Republican nominee for governor, graduated from the state
legislature to Congress in 1998. He is halfway through his third term
representing Central Kentucky in the U.S. House of Representatives.

In a recent interview, Fletcher acknowledged that Republicans recruited him
into the race for governor. The GOP is eager to end three decades of
Democratic control of the Governor's Mansion, and to many, Fletcher had the
look of a winner. He didn't even draw a serious Democratic opponent in his
last election.

However, Fletcher added, he's nobody's tool. Once he and his wife agreed he
should run, he took full command of his campaign, he said.

"This was my decision," he said. "Glenna and I made this decision, and
we're very passionate and excited about it."

Fletcher also talked about the importance of religion in public life, his
ability to get along with Democrats, and his running mate Steve Pence, the
former U.S. attorney in Louisville.

Question: Gov. Paul Patton and Lt. Gov. Steve Henry don't work together and
don't even seem to like each other. Why did you pick Steve Pence as your
running mate, and what does he offer us that you don't?

Answer: He brings a good complement. He has a tremendous amount of
experience and expertise in the criminal justice system. I bring different
experience, and the combination, I think, gives us a tremendously broad
breadth of ability. Steve will have a significant role. We work very well
together, we get along real well, and share the same passion for Kentucky.

Q: If you're elected, are you going to tell us something like, "I had no
idea our state budget was such a mess, and it turns out I'm going to have
to raise your taxes after all"? Or do you go in with a pretty clear idea of
where we stand?

A: There's no question that, when you actually get in there and get down
into every detail, which is impossible at this time, that there are going
to be surprises. But we have talked to a number of people, and I do believe
that we can balance the budget without raising taxes. And we must. States
that have raised taxes in these types of situations have found that they've
ended up in even deeper problems.

Q: Much of Kentucky's economy is based on cigarettes, liquor and gambling.
Is that a good thing?

A: It makes us much more vulnerable to downturns in the economy. And we see
our poverty rate increasing at twice the national rate during a soft
economy. It's a reflection that we need more diversity in our economy.
We've done well in the automobile industry; I think that's a principal area
where we can do much better. We can do much better with the federal
research labs, with biotechnology and the new economy. I do support the
Governor's Office for the New Economy. Clearly, we have depended upon those
more traditional products, and you want to make sure we keep those
economies strong as well. But I want to bring in the kind of good jobs we'd
be proud to give our children.

Q: Do you smoke, drink liquor or gamble?

A: I don't smoke. I do go to the races occasionally. Never bought a lottery
ticket. And I enjoy a glass of wine with dinner, so I'm not a complete
teetotaler.

Q: Everyone agrees that Kentucky schools could be better. You raised kids
here. What complaints do you have about the education your children
received in Kentucky schools?

A: I really believe that we were blessed to be in good schools where we
lived. We moved into southern Fayette County, into the Palomar subdivision.
Our daughter was at Lafayette High School, where I graduated from, and had
a very good education. We were very participatory in that. The role of the
parents is extremely important. We had an experience with our son where we
didn't have the quality of teacher one year that we felt we needed. So we
realized that you need to get very, very involved, early on, so that we
could help make sure that our son got into a classroom with a really good,
qualified teacher. Some parents would feel intimidated about making those
kinds of requests on behalf of their children. But overall, I was very
pleased. Our son eventually went to the Dunbar High School magnet program,
and received an outstanding education.

Q: Two convicted killers were executed during the Patton administration.
You support the death penalty. Would you be comfortable if somebody were
executed after you signed a death warrant, or would that bother you on some
level?

A: There's no question it's a grave decision that you make. I do support
the death penalty. I don't think anyone can anticipate what they would feel
like when they have that responsibility and authority. But I do support it.
I think knowing that the deterrent that it provides, and the justice that
it provides for the victim, justifies capital punishment in capital
offenses. Now, I would like to make sure we make every effort possible,
including using new technologies, to ensure that no innocent people are
executed. DNA evaluation adds, I think, tremendous value to ensuring that
justice is done.

Q: We've seen a lot of deadlock in Frankfort between a Dem-ocratic
governor, a Demo-cratic House and a Republican Senate. If you win, you'll
face a legislative chamber controlled by your opposing party. What are you
going to do about that?

A: I've got a history of working well with Democrats and Republicans. When
I first entered the General Assembly, the first piece of major health care
legislation that I authored was sponsored by leading-Democrats in the
House. So I understand that you need to allow other people to take credit
for things, that you need to work in a bipartisan way. People are tired of
the partisan politics, the logjam that it has created. I can work very
well, I believe, with House Speaker Jody Richards -- I just spoke to him
recently -- and Senate President David Williams.

Q: The legislature spends a lot of time fighting over religion, such as
whether the Ten Commandments should be posted in government buildings. Why
is religion so divisive in the political world, and would it be a better
idea for politicians to run the government and let the churches run religion?

A: Most people understand that this country was founded on the basic faith
in a benevolent creator. That's in our founding document, the Declaration
of Independence. And I think some people are concerned not that we're
pushing religion in schools, but that it's being pushed out. I think that's
a legitimate concern. You know, a lot of people are taking their children
out of public schools because they feel like the values are not being
taught there that they want their children to have. I do support allowing
the posting of historical documents -- the Mayflower Compact, the
Declaration of Independence and the Ten Commandments. I don't think that's
pushing religion. I think that's part of an honest examination of where we
came from, where our morality comes from.

Q: You and your opponent both have featured your wives in your television
commercials. Why did you do that, and do gestures like that make your
personal life a legitimate public issue?

A: We live in a fishbowl, anyway. I think people want to look and see who
their first lady will be, and I think Glenna will make Kentucky a great
first lady. Plus, she's a lot better-looking than I am.

Q: Every session of the legislature brings another batch of abortion bills.
People feel so passionately about abortion. Are we ever going to see an end
to this debate?

A: I don't think anytime in the near future we're going to see an end to
the debate. We can work to make sure we support women in difficult
situations, to let them know that adoption and other alternatives are
there. We can also support reducing unwanted pregnancy. But I don't think
debate on this is unhealthy. I think there are passionate reasons why
people are pro-life, and why people on the other side take a different view.

Q: We also see a lot of fights in the legislature about legally mandated
equal rights for gays and lesbians. How do you feel about that, and why is
it such an emotional flashpoint?

A: I think it does because, clearly, you look at the culture, not just here
but across the world. There's always strong feelings about that issue. I do
believe it's important to keep the standard of traditional marriage intact.
But I also want to make sure that we don't discriminate against people
based on that issue.

Q: A lot of people want a statewide vote on a constitutional amendment to
allow slot machines at racetracks, or maybe even full-fledged casinos.
Forget about being governor for a second. As a voter, how would you vote on
that?

A: First, we'd have to see exactly what the referendum looked like. But at
this time, I don't personally support it.

Q: Education and the economy are big issues. What are other important
issues for Kentucky that nobody seems to be talking about?

A: We've talked a lot about the drug problem in this state. This is a
problem that's affecting families and communities. We have methamphetamine
in the west, OxyContin in the east, we have crack cocaine in some of the
urban regions, particularly Louisville. We haven't had an effective war
against those drugs here. While we've had drug use going down in the United
States, our drug use has been going up in Kentucky. And that has a
tremendous impact on our ability to attract business, it has a tremendous
impact on jobs and the education of our work force. It's had a very
deleterious effect.

Q: So far, what has been the best moment of your political career?

A: One of the most rewarding things I've done is work on the Patient's Bill
of Rights, working alongside the president. [In 2001, President Bush
endorsed Fletcher's version of U.S. House legislation on managed health
care.] When we started out that process, I told my legislative director,
"Our goal here is to get this bill passed. It's not likely we'll have our
name as lead sponsor on the final bill." When we passed it that night, that
was an exciting time. The (House) speaker gave me the gavel and wrote a
personal note on it for me.

Q: So far, what has been the worst moment of your political career?

A: The thing about politics, I don't think there's one moment. I guess the
lowest politically would be when I lost the congressional race in 1996. But
I knew going into the last few weeks that it was very unlikely we were
going to win that, so I already was mentally prepared. That whole campaign,
we never quite got it off the ground. It was a very frustrating endeavor.
But if it was the lowest point, it was also educational.

Q: Obviously, you disagree with your opponent, Ben Chandler, on a lot of
issues. But what do you think of him as a man?

A: He seems to have a good family. He seems to be very concerned and
interested in his children. From all I can see, Ben is a good man. The
difference we have is on who is able to bring changes to Frankfort that are
needed.

Q: What is your opponent's best idea?

A: His idea on cell towers, using state properties whenever they're
available. I think that can bring in some revenue. Nobody's talked about it
so much in terms of the revenue. When he said that, it clicked with me.

Q: What have your campaign advisers told you to start doing, or to stop doing?

A: They wanted to make sure we get out and let people know how passionate I
am to do this job. There was a lot of discussion at first that maybe I was
recruited into this job. There's no question that some recruiting went on,
but you know, this was my decision. Glenna and I made this decision, and
we're very passionate and excited about it.

Q: If you lose this race, what will be the cause?

A: I don't know that I could speculate on that.

Q: What is your favorite part of campaigning?

A: I really enjoy getting out, stopping in the country stores, going in and
saying "Hello" to people. The best part of the campaign is the fine people
that you meet across this state.

Q: What part of campaigning do you dread?

A: Getting on the phone and asking somebody for money.

Q: What's the worst trouble you got into as a kid?

A: I don't know if this is self-incrimination. Should I answer this? I was
quite a rowdy kid in school. In the first grade, I remember -- and this
still sticks in my memory very vividly -- I remember somebody walking down
the aisle, and me sticking my foot out and tripping them. Miss Irene took
me before the whole class and paddled me. That left an impression. I
haven't tripped anybody since.