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Bush Sets No Litmus Test for Judge= s; GOP Front-Runner Finds Big Crowds in N.H. Debut
[FINAL Edition]
The Washington Post - Washington, D.C.
Author: David Von Drehle
Date: Jun 15, 1999
Start Page: A.01
Section: A SECTION
Text Word Count: 1110
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Texas Gov. George W. Bush said today that if he becomes president he= will appoint judicial conservatives to the federal courts, but he won'= ;t require them to agree with him on specific issues, including abortion.

In his first news conference since taking his campaign on the road, th= e Republican front-runner also addressed the standoff with Russia in Kosovo= . NATO must "seize the moment and run the {peacekeeping} operations,&q= uot; he said, adding that "over time," American troops in Kosovo= should be withdrawn and replaced by additional European soldiers.

Du= ring the news conference and in other settings during a busy day, Bush conf= idently fielded questions on issues from health care to flag burning, from= gun control to presidential character. The answers were generally moderate= and at times fence-straddling, yet he showed more of his thinking on these= topics than he has. "I think I've been pretty darn specific,&quo= t; Bush said in the evening and promised detailed proposals, on taxes and= other issues, "on my own timetable."

Well rested after a= day off at his family home in Kennebunkport, Bush hit the storied politica= l testing ground of New Hampshire and found big crowds waiting wherever he= went. He addressed the annual luncheon of the state's Federation of= Republican Women, an event that normally draws a few hundred people, accor= ding to organizers. With Bush as a draw, some 1,500 people tried to buy tic= kets at $25 per person; about 900 could be accommodated. People were beggin= g for tickets outside the downtown Manchester hotel where the luncheon was= held.

Indeed, the Bush juggernaut seemed, if anything, to be gaining= momentum. Bush arrived in New Hampshire as a new public poll showed him wi= th more support in New Hampshire than his nine GOP foes combined. Sen. Judd= Gregg (R-N.H.), Bush's campaign chairman here, opened the news confer= ence this morning by unfurling an 8-foot-long list of local Bush chairmen= throughout New Hampshire.

"He has by far the strongest organiza= tion up here," said Bruce Perlo, who runs a computer software business= in northern New Hampshire and is active in Republican politics. He travele= d several hours to see Bush at lunch; he has now heard from all the announc= ed candidates for the GOP nomination. "And now I've made up my mi= nd for Bush," Perlo said. "I was inspired by him -- he has a mess= age many of us Republicans have wanted to hear."

Bush is riding= so high that he has become the target of rivals on all sides. Democratic= National Committee executive director Joe Andrew has shadowed Bush from Io= wa to New Hampshire, turning up outside Bush events to attack the candidate= as an extremist in moderate's clothing.

Brian Kennedy, chairman= of GOP challenger Lamar Alexander's campaign, has also been turning= up at Bush events. And a number of Bush's GOP rivals blasted him for= his statement today that he wouldn't require a Supreme Court nominee= to share his his antiabortion stance.

"He said no litmus tests,= but certainly Governor Bush would never put a bigot on the Supreme Court,&= quot; conservative activist Gary Bauer said. "We know that's too= important. Protecting the lives of 1.5 million unborn children in America= ought to be just as important to the party of Lincoln and Reagan."

Bauer called for a debate with Bush. Earlier in the day another challen= ger, Malcolm S. "Steve" Forbes, also criticized Bush: "I bel= ieve you should appoint justices on matter of principle. One of those princ= iples is belief in the sanctity of life." And he too asked for a debat= e. "It is far too early to start the debate on debates," countere= d Karen Hughes, Bush communications director.

The candidate said he= welcomes the attention. "I like to talk about me, and I am glad that= others are talking about me."

The next president may have the= chance to make an enormous mark on the Supreme Court. There is widespread= speculation that some of the justices, including Chief Justice William H.= Rehnquist, will retire during the next presidential term, creating an oppo= rtunity to remake the temper of the court's majority.

Bush said= he will choose federal judges the way he has chosen state judges. "Do= the judges share my overall philosophy and will the judges strictly interp= ret the Constitution as opposed to using the bench as a way to legislate la= w?" According to spokesman Hughes, he does not -- and would not as pre= sident -- "ask a judge how they would rule on any specific issue."= ;

A sampling of other answers: Bush said his first priorities as pres= ident would be to increase military spending and cut taxes.

He promis= ed he will eventually release a plan to "reduce the marginal {tax} rat= es and simplify the system."

He will "oppose quotas and rac= ial preferences," he said, while trying to increase minority access to= higher education and government contracts.

He called on the GOP to= take a softer stance on immigration.

"Our party somehow has got= ten the imagery that we don't welcome legal immigrants," he said.=

He endorsed medical savings accounts -- a program that allows people= to deduct money before taxes to pay health care bills, but passed up a cha= nce to call for tougher gun controls, saying that "we need to enforce= the laws on the books."

He was asked whether his evocations of= strong character are aimed at President Clinton. Bush responded by raising= his right hand and saying: "I think it's important for any of us= who assume high office to understand when we put our hand on the Bible tha= t we are swearing not only to uphold the laws of the land -- but we are swe= aring to uphold the dignity of the office to which we have been elected.&qu= ot;

At the same time, Bush declined to discuss his conduct as a young= man. "I made mistakes 20 or 30 years ago, but I've learned from= my mistakes. . . . You can ask all the questions you want, that is my answ= er."

It was another photogenic day: Bush strolled through a morn= ing sea fog, read a book to some darling schoolchildren and fielded questio= ns from citizens at a volunteer firehouse in Bow. Scattered protesters met= him along the way. Some waved signs covered with question marks; another= objected to Bush's support for free trade.

At the fire station,= a man in the crowd shouted: "What about the flag amendment?" --= referring to a proposal to ban flag burning.

"I support it,&quo= t; Bush answered.

"What about free speech and the First Amendmen= t?" the man shouted.

"You're exercising it," the= candidate fired back.

Credit: Washington Post Staff Writer

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproducti= on or distribution is prohibited without permission.
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