I have to say that not being forthcoming early on, when it was not just a "secret," like private drug use might be, but a matter of public record, just waiting to be found, indicates a basic stupidity on Bush's part. Or a too-clever-by-half-ness, if it was a "finess," as has been suggested. Neither is a character element I'd like to see much of in my leader(s).

And those who say "shame on Gore" for its release (even though it seems to have been a Democrat working independently) should read the Washington Times, the local loonie-moonie paper in DC, for featuring slanted, innuendo-filled, "news" stories with little or no fact within 'em, all aimed at Clinton and Gore. And no one on that paper, it seems, sees anything wrong with it. After all, conservative voices are so rarely heard in the media, who cares about a dearth of facts?

Bob Clayton