Bush tells why he quit drinking

CHICAGO--George W. Bush told Oprah Winfrey and her millions of viewers he gave up drinking because alcohol "was beginning to compete for my affections." And when asked about his "favorite dream," he grinned and raised his right hand, as if taking the presidential oath.

But he was careful about baring too much on Winfrey's TV show yesterday.

The talk-show diva noted that he had said in his GOP acceptance speech that he needed forgiveness. When did he need it? she wanted to know.

"Right now," he said, to laughter.

"I'm looking for specifics," she persisted.

"I know you are," he said, "but I'm running for president."

That brought more laughter and applause from Winfrey's studio audience as she taped her popular syndicated show.

Both Republican Bush and Democrat Al Gore--who had sat to answer her questions in the same chair a week earlier--are actively courting undecided female voters. Alternately serious and playful, Bush fielded questions for an hour--on his parents, his religion, his dreams, his likes and dislikes.

Gore's performance had been widely praised, and some Republicans had feared that Winfrey, a contributor to Democratic campaigns, might be a difficult host.

But they got along smoothly. And Bush gave Winfrey something she hadn't received from Gore: a kiss on the cheek. "No kiss?" she had said to Gore, pretending to be hurt.

Bush, 54, turned serious when recounting his decision to give up drinking at age 40 after a binge with friends in Colorado Springs.

Although he has told the story before, Bush gave extra emphasis to the impact his drinking had had on his wife, Laura, and their twin daughters, now 18.

"Alcohol was beginning to compete with my affections for my wife and my family. It was beginning to crowd out my energy. And I decided to quit."

He said Laura had not quite given him an ultimatum. "But I think she got disappointed in some evenings. ... There were some times when she said, `You need to think about what you're doing.' "

During the show, Bush tossed in a few bits of campaign rhetoric. But Winfrey tried to draw him out with more personal questions, and for the most part he went along.

Asked what he thought was the biggest public misconception about him, Bush said it was that "I'm running on my daddy's name."

Not true, he said, though "I love my dad a lot."

Asked why Americans should vote for him, Bush said he was a "proven leader" and rattled off a list of goals including improvements in education, a strong military, a better health-care system and the like.

"Al Gore says the same thing," Winfrey interjected.

"That's fine. But they can't get it done. They've been up there for eight years trying to get something done."

Meanwhile, Gore, campaigning in Los Angeles, accused health-care giants of "putting profits ahead of people."

The vice president is spending this week ripping into insurance companies and health providers, casting himself as the champion of consumers and foe of corporate giants.

Thus, yesterday, he headed to a community center to promise tighter laws protecting the privacy of medical records.

"It's wrong for the insurance companies and drug companies to sell your medical information, putting profits ahead of people," he said.

Meeting with 150 senior citizens and health policy experts, Gore said, "You have a fundamental right to privacy and no powerful interest should be allowed to sell it or take it away."

Another of Gore's populist themes: taxes and rich people.

When Bush said in a television interview Monday that he would accelerate his tax cut if the economy slowed, Gore's aides were quick to attack.

"George Bush has made his priorities clear," said senior aide Ron Klain. "He will return to deficit spending rather than trim his tax cut for the very wealthy."