Posted on 02/20/2005 2:03:25 PM PST by rs79bm
By Sue Pleming ( <---- LIBERAL ALERT!) WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush indicated in interviews secretly taped by a friend before he became president that he had used marijuana but would not admit it for fear of setting a bad example for children.
Portions of the tapes, recorded from 1998 to 2000 by author Doug Wead without Bush's knowledge, were aired on ABC News on Sunday and published by The New York Times. Their authenticity was verified by the media outlets but has not been independently checked by Reuters.
"I wouldn't answer the marijuana question. You know why? Because I don't want some little kid doing what I tried," Bush purportedly says on the tape.
He added: "But you got to understand, I want to be president. I want to lead. I want to set -- Do you want your little kid say, 'Hey, Daddy, President Bush tried marijuana, I think I will?"'
In the tape, Bush mocks former Vice President Al Gore -- who fought him for the presidency in 2000 -- for admitting he smoked marijuana.
White House officials did not dispute the tapes' veracity and indicated the president was disappointed by their release.
"These were casual conversations that then Gov. Bush was having with someone he thought was a friend, and that's what they are," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters traveling with Bush to Europe aboard Air Force One.
NOT AWARE
McClellan said Bush, who was governor of Texas when the tapes were made, was not aware he was being recorded and the White House found out only when contacted by the New York Times for comment.
"Look, I think that, one, the comments in the tapes speak for themselves. And two, I think that what I just said pretty much speaks for itself," McClellan said when pressed about the details.
"Those were issues that were addressed ad nauseam four years ago and they were conversations that took place more than four years ago," he said, adding that Bush had not been in contact with Wead for several years.
If I had to make a guess....I would say that roughly 90% of the people under 50 in this country have smoked pot. Nobody cares!
Once you answer one question you open up the door for others. You have to spend all your time defending yourself. And the questions never stop.
Thank you for proving my point.
This is a NON story for many reasons...
1. Bush had a road to damascus experience that he dramatically changed his behaviors and beliefs. People repect that and the media do not believe it.
2. It is different in Bill Clintons case because there have been many accounts of him as the arkansas attorney general, Arkansas gov. using pot and cocaine. He was breaking the law that he swore to uphold.
When you deny nothing, not even the most outrageous of rumors, people ignore it. If you deny somethings then you must deny every thing or anything that you do not deny is taken as affirming.
The MSN is known for lying and distorting and they are doing it again. This works in Bush's favor as no matter how hard they beat the drum a large percentage of the country will shrug and say, "well, there they go again."
Show tunes! that's outrageous! pot yes, LSD sure,coveting gossiping whatever but never showtunes.That's just wrong on so many levels.And you know if President Bush were ever caught singing show tunes it would undermine the very credibility of hi office and this great nation.
Thanks for the ping Meek. I had read the full article about this on Drudge. I guess none of us would expect our 'friends' to do something like this. Wead also said he didn't expect the tapes to be released till after his death but made the tapes for reference when he wrote a book!
I feel betrayed. I will never vote for him for President again.
My state (Illinois) is fairly tough on drugs. But even with up to 50 plants, first conviction could end up being a 24 month probation.
I'm still waiting for barkeep's reply. Oh, and we were talking about marijuana possession, not growing. Pot users, not dealers or traffickers.
Showtunes? Don't ever show yer mug around my place!
No. . .no, wait, . . .that wasn't Bush--that was TED KENNEDY the heeero of the Left!
And he was so loaded he drove right off the bridge into the Chappaquiddick River and he left Mary Jo Kopechne to suffocate and die!
No. . .no, wait, . . .that wasn't Bush--that was TED KENNEDY the heeero of the Left!
Senator Teddy, wearing his controversial neck brace, leaves St. Vincent's
Church with his wife, Joan, after the funeral Mass for Mary Jo Kopechne.
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