Hughes said Tom Connolly, the 1998
Democratic nominee for governor in Maine, had
admitted releasing the information
Bush Accuses Democrats of
Dirty Tricks
By Alan Elsner, Political Correspondent Nov 3 11:37am
ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The
campaign of Republican
George W. Bush, leading
narrowly in polls, accused
Democrats of ``dirty tricks'' on
Friday for disclosing the Texas
governor's 1976 drunken driving
arrest, as the presidential race
entered its final four days.
``I think the American people are tired of this
kind of 'gotcha politics,''' said Bush campaign
spokeswoman Karen Hughes of the revelation
on Thursday that Bush was arrested in Maine in
1976 for driving under the influence of alcohol.
``They're tired of this kind of last-minute dirty
tricks and I think the Democrats owe the
American people an explanation,'' Hughes told
reporters.
Hughes said Tom Connolly, the 1998
Democratic nominee for governor in Maine, had
admitted releasing the information. The Gore
campaign has said it had no part in releasing the
information, which roiled the 2000 campaign
with four days to go until Election Day.
In the latest Reuters/MSNBC tracking poll, Texas
Gov. Bush led Vice President Gore by 45-42
percent. Other surveys were roughly in line with
that finding. Green Party candidate Ralph Nader
had 5 percent and was hurting Gore in several
states.
But the vice president was ahead in several of
the most crucial swing states, giving him hope of
reaching the 270 electoral votes needed to be
elected president.
The latest Reuters Electoral College count had
Bush with 217 firm votes, Gore with 200 and 121
too close to call.
Republicans and Democrats continued to battle
for control of Congress, with Democrats moving
ahead in some key Senate races. The
Democrats need to pick up five seats to regain
control and most analysts still rated that a long
shot, though not impossible. The Democrats
need a net gain of seven seats to take control of
the House of Representatives.
In the tightest presidential race since 1976, one
unanswered question was what effect the
disclosure of Bush's arrest would have.
The topic dominated talk radio and TV chat
shows, though most newspapers gave it
restrained coverage. The danger for Bush was
that it could drown out his message for a day or
two.
The Texas governor appeared before reporters
at the Wisconsin State Fair grounds on Thursday
night to try to confront the issue quickly. He
admitted the incident happened and questioned
the timing of the disclosure.
``I have my suspicions,'' he said, without pointing
the finger at the Gore campaign, which denied
any role.
On Friday he was campaigning in Michigan,
where a Reuters/MSNBC tracking poll showed
Gore gaining momentum. In Grand Rapids and
Saginaw, Michigan, Bush was to outline his
remedies for repairing what he calls a
weakening of the U.S. military under the
administration of President Clinton.
REBOUND AGAINST GORE?
A Republican consultant said not only would the
drunken driving story not hurt Bush, it might
rebound against Gore. He said undecided
voters were already suspicious of the vice
president.
``Fairly or unfairly, if this looks like an example of
Gore being willing to do or say anything to win,
this could boomerang against him,'' said Nelson
Warfield, who was spokesman for Republican
presidential candidate Bob Dole in 1996.
Gore was campaigning in the swing state of
Missouri on Friday before heading back to his
home state of Tennessee, where polls show
Bush with a narrow and shrinking lead.
He compared his campaign to that of President
Harry S. Truman, who entered the last weekend
of the 1948 presidential race trailing Republican
Thomas Dewey. Gore even referred to the
famous premature Chicago newspaper
headline: ``Dewey Defeats Truman'' and urged
supporters to keep the faith.
One big worry for Gore came from private polls
in California suggesting his once-secure lead
was eroding rapidly there. Gore cannot win the
election if he loses California's 54 electoral
votes but he has spent nothing on TV ads in the
state while Bush poured in $5 million in the past
two weeks.
Clinton campaigned in the state on Thursday
and Friday, urging voters to support Gore and
trying his best to swing some crucial
congressional races toward the Democrats.
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