August 19, 1999
Web posted at: 5:50 p.m. EDT (2150 GMT)

ROANOKE, Virginia (CNN) -- Through direct remarks and statements from key aides, Texas Gov. George W. Bush on Thursday denied using any illegal drugs over the past 25 years, marking his broadest statement yet on an issue that threatens to obstruct his Republican presidential campaign.

Bush and his campaign aides made a series of statements Thursday both expanding and clarifying statements he made Wednesday in an interview with The Dallas Morning News. In that interview, Bush said he could answer 'no' to the current question about illegal drug use that is asked on FBI background checks of administration appointees. That question asks prospective appointees whether they have used illegal drugs in the past seven years.

Step by step Thursday, Bush and his aides expanded that definition -- even while the Texas governor said he would not answer the question about whether he ever used illegal drugs.

Gov. Bush answered questions Thursday at a campaign stop in Roanoke, Virginia.

First, at a morning campaign stop in Roanoke, Virginia, Bush said he could meet the standard on FBI background checks during his father's presidential administration. During the administration of former President George Bush, prospective appointees were asked whether they had used illegal drugs in the past 15 years.

"I've told the people of this country that, over 20 years ago, I made some mistakes when I was younger. I've learned from those mistakes," Bush said. Again, as has been the case throughout his campaign, Bush refused to be more specific.

"Should I become the president, my pledge to the American people is that I will uphold the honor and dignity of the office to which I have been elected," the younger Bush said.

Next, a key campaign aide expanded that definition. Bush spokeswoman Mindy Tucker later said the Republican presidential front-runner was saying that he has not used illegal drugs at any time since 1974, when the 53-year-old Bush was 28.

She, too, said Bush would not go into any more detail about his earlier years.

Later in the day, after another campaign appearance, Bush turned aside further questions from reporters attempting to pin him down on the issue. After saying he had "made mistakes" as a younger adult and saying he would not go into additional details -- his standing answer to such questions -- Bush added, "What you've just heard from me is my answer through the course of the campaign."

Bush has faced persistent questions from the news media about whether he had used illegal drugs -- particularly cocaine -- and the questioning has increased in the wake of Saturday's Iowa Republican straw poll victory.

Bush has admitted to past problems with alcohol but has not directly answered the drug question. Even so, the issue would not go away.

In the Dallas Morning News interview, first published Wednesday in the online edition, Bush said he would insist that appointees answer drug-use questions that are part of FBI background checks, and said he could meet those standards as well.

"As I understand it, the current (FBI) 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,'" Bush said in the interview.

At a news conference Wednesday in Austin, Texas, Bush said the drug rumors had been "planted," although he declined to name any person or campaign who planted the rumors.

In an interview Thursday on CNN's "Inside Politics," GOP presidential candidate Steve Forbes said such a "plant" had "absolutely not" come from his campaign.

When asked whether he would ask Bush the drug question in a debate, Forbes responded, "That's a question you guys have asked. I'm not going to ask it."

The Texas governor is the only major presidential candidate who has not answered the question about whether he has ever used cocaine. Several other presidential candidates, including Vice President Al Gore, the Democratic front-runner, have admitted to past marijuana use.

"Every candidate has a responsibility to decide what questions are appropriate and how they are going to respond," said Gore spokesman Roger Salazar. "The vice president thinks that this election will be decided by the voters on issues that affect their everyday lives and that is what he is focusing on."

In Texas, former Gov. Ann Richards, whom Bush ousted in 1994, faced drug use questions from a Democratic primary election rival when she first sought the party's nomination in 1990.

A recovering alcoholic, Richards openly discussed her drinking and her recovery, but she refused to answer the drug question. She won the primary, and GOP candidate Clayton Williams didn't raise the drug issue. Neither did Bush four years later.

The drug questions came Thursday as the Texas governor visited the West End Center for Youth in Roanoke. Afterward, Bush toured the city market area downtown. A man, carrying a large green sign with the word "snort," yelled, "Just answer the question. Did you do it? Don't feed the frenzy, just answer the question. Al Gore answered the question."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Thursday, August 19, 1999

• Bush denies using any illegal drug during the past 25 years
• New Hampshire poll: Bush slips slightly
• 'Baby boom' echo propels record school enrollment
• Clinton names Justice Department lawyer new White House counsel
• Ethics board fines Gov. Foster $20,000 for Duke list payments
• Is Bush eyeing Dole's support?
• Clinton says tax cut standoff will work out, but sticks with veto threat
• Court keeps investigation alive, but Starr says he's quitting
• Medicare lobbying follows Clinton, even on vacation
• After six decades, Robert Ball still battles for a program he loves
• NBC's Gwen Ifill may take over as host of 'Washington Week'
• Analysis shows Minnesota's tax relief tops in nation
• Settlement would result in new boundaries for Florida congressional districts
• Former NY parole official admits to obstructing influence-peddling probe
• Dole keeps plugging away
• Clinton takes time off for 53rd birthday
• GOP candidates ignoring Alabama straw poll
• Contempt motion filed against Bush in Texas whistleblower lawsuit
• California GOP mired in debt

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