"MRS. Bush said `I'm very worried about our privacy. That's the main
thing.''
Bush Worried About White House Bid
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Gov. George W. Bush, weighing whether to seek the
presidency in 2000, is hearing from a small group of Texans who aren't so
eager for him to run: His family.
``I'm reluctant. Absolutely,'' said his wife, Laura, at a news conference
Wednesday with her husband. The couple's 17-year-old twin daughters also are
worried about losing their privacy in the ``meat grinder'' of national
politics, the governor told reporters at the same event.
Still, advisers say the twice-elected Bush is increasingly likely to mount a
White House bid, and he says nothing about his private life would disqualify
him.
``If I had done anything in the past that would have disqualified me for being
in public office, you'd have found it,'' he said. ``When I put my hand on the
Bible and was sworn to uphold the laws of the land of the state, I also
implicitly said I'd uphold the dignity of the office I was elected to, and I
have done so.''
While the governor lingers on the sidelines, other presidential prospects are
busy lining up political talent or criticizing Bush.
New York's Republican Gov. George Pataki dodged questions about a possible
presidential bid Wednesday, but announced that he has created political action
committees to finance trips across the nation to ``make sure the Republican
Party refocuses on the policies that unite us with the American people.''
Rep. John Kasich, R-Ohio, isn't officially a presidential candidate either,
but he sure sounded like one on Wednesday. ``Who's from Iowa?'' he asked
visitors from California Lutheran University. ``Any of you want to help me run
for president?''
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has tapped veteran operative Rick Davis to manage
his presidential exploratory committee. If, as expected, McCain formally
becomes a candidate, Davis would be his campaign manager.
Davis worked in the 1980 and 1984 campaigns of Ronald Reagan, serving in the
former president's administration. He was debate coordinator for George Bush
in the 1988 presidential campaign and convention manager for 1996 GOP
presidential nominee Bob Dole.
Representatives for Dole's wife, Elizabeth, had talked with Davis about
possibly working for her. The former Cabinet secretary is determining whether
she has the support to seek the GOP nomination.
She plans to travel Feb. 8 to New Hampshire, a critical presidential state.
On the Democratic side, House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt of Missouri is
almost certain not to challenge Vice President Al Gore for the Democratic
nomination, allies said Wednesday. They say he has not quite finalized the
decision, but will soon make his intentions known.
Several GOP presidential hopefuls will be in Washington this week to address
the Conservative Political Action Conference. Expect Bush to be a target.
Lamar Alexander, the former Tennessee governor who failed to win the
nomination in 1996, plans to attack Bush for espousing ``compassionate
conservatism.''
A text of his speech, obtained by The Associated Press, reminds the audience
that Bush's father also had a label for his ideology: ``kinder and gentler.''
``Not long after we qualified our language, we were qualifying our
principles,'' Alexander says. ``We accepted a tax increase -- violating the
bedrock conservative principle of lower taxes and smaller government -- and
soon found ourselves vacating the White House for the first time in 12
years.''
Bush dismissed the criticism.
``Some people choose to campaign based on what they believe and some people
choose to campaign on talking about the other person,'' the governor said at
the news conference.
Another CPAC speaker, likely GOP candidate Gary Bauer, also questions Bush's
conservative credentials. He told reporters in Washington on Wednesday, ``I
think George Bush would describe himself as a Bush Republican. I think
Elizabeth Dole is in many ways a Dole Republican. But if I run, I'll run as a
Reagan Republican.''
Sitting behind a small table in a corner of a small room at the governor's
mansion, the Bushes answered a wide range of questions from state and local
reporters one day after his inauguration.
``My daughters are normal. They don't want to be put through the meat grinder
of national politics and I understand that,'' Bush said.
Mrs. Bush, not often quoted about her reluctance, said, ``I just think it's a
major life change. We have a very nice life in Texas.''
She said she is not concerned about the family's safety. ``Privacy,'' she
said. ``I'm very worried about privacy. That's the main thing.''
Still, Bush, who is actively courting supporters and donors in the event that
he runs, sounds like a man on the brink of a presidential bid.
He said, for example, that this might be his one and only shot at the White
House.
``Should I choose not to run for president, I understand the window of
opportunity might close,'' he said.
