Arrested for drunk driving, plead guilty, paid fine

Bush would later say he could pass a background check going back to 1974. The date was chosen because his father was inaugurated in 1989, and background checks of appointees went back fifteen years. “I’m not going to talk about what I did years ago,” Bush said. “This is a Washington game where they float rumors, force a person to fight off a rumor, then they’ll float another rumor. And I’m not going to participate. I saw what happened to my dad with rumors. I made mistakes. I’ve asked people not to let the rumors get in the way of the facts. I’ve told people I’ve learned from my mistakes, and I have.”

Never disclosed DUI arrest out of concern for his daughters

She was asked if she would have considered it acceptable for President Clinton to have denied involvement with Monica Lewinsky out concern for his daughter Chelsea. “The only time the governor was directly asked if he’d ever been arrested for drinking and driving and he replied, and I quote, ‘I do not have a perfect record,’ ” she replied.

She added, “He has been very forthcoming with the American people that he made mistakes as a youth.” When asked if 30, Bush’s age at the time, qualifies as youthful, she said, “It was before he was married. It was before he had children.”

Information about Bush DUI was put out by partisan Democrat

A leader learns from his mistakes and shares wisdom

Acknowledges arrest for drunk driving in 1976

Bush said, “I’m not proud of that. I made some mistakes. I occasionally drank too much, and I did that night. I learned my lesson.” Bush said he was not jailed after the arrest. He said earlier in the week, “I quit drinking in 1986 and haven’t had a drop since then. And it wasn’t because of a government program, by the way -- in my particular case, because I had a higher call.“

Bush said the timing of the initial news report was ”interesting.“ When asked where the story may have originated, he said, ”I’ve got my suspicions.“ Al Gore and DNC officials both said they first learned of the arrest from news reports Thursday and said it would be inappropriate to comment on the matter.