ATERLOO, Iowa - Governor George W. Bush has a story. And he's sticking to it.
After two weeks of news conferences on the campaign trail, Bush aides are making him increasingly unavailable to reporters - apparently because he was facing too many questions they didn't like.
Bush hasn't held a formal news conference since last Thursday, when he was asked repeatedly about his stance on abortion rights. Yesterday, it appeared his aides might not let him hold any news conferences this week, in the days leading up to the New Hampshire primary Feb. 1.
''It's not in our best interests. We have a message of the day, and we're going to stick to it,'' spokeswoman Mindy Tucker told several reporters. ''We are not going to have one big fat news conference on our schedule where you can come and ask about what you think is the news of the day.''
Communications director Karen Hughes later insisted that Tucker's scenario was a mischaracterization of what would happen. Bush often stops to chat with the cluster of TV crews that trail his every step, she pointed out, saying that would continue in the coming weeks.
''We're going to be very impromptu, which is the nature of New Hampshire campaigning. We'll be doing a lot of dropping in to diners, and you all will be with us,'' Hughes told reporters.
But asked whether reporters would be able to question Bush in a formal setting, Hughes said: ''Are you here to cover the campaign? Then you'll be here to cover what Governor Bush is doing next week. He'll be campaigning next week.''
During his news conference last Thursday, Bush faced tough questions about his stance on abortion following a barrage of criticism by his top opponent in Iowa, publisher Steve Forbes.
That day, Bush had hoped to be focusing on the difference between his tax cut proposal and that of his top national competitor, Arizona Senator John S. McCain.
The abortion question is especially tricky for Bush, who during the Republican primaries is faced with a difficult balancing act: trying to underscore his conservative credentials without alienating moderate votes. Bush, who is soaring in the Iowa polls, appears to be positioning himself already for a general election race with Vice President Al Gore.
After attending morning services at the First Assembly of God Church in Des Moines yesterday, Bush denied that his recent firm statements on abortion were calculated to appeal to conservative voters during the primaries. He said as he left the church: ''No one's pushing me around.''
''The good thing about me is, I'm a candidate who's run consistently through this primary, and I'll run the same kind of campaign in the general election,'' Bush said.
Still, his conservative views on social issues continued to be on display. Earlier yesterday morning - after awaking to the news that the Des Moines Register had endorsed him - Bush gave a TV interview in which he said that Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia fits his definition of a ''strict constructionist'' judge.
Bush has refused to say he would appoint only judges who oppose abortion rights. Instead, he routinely says he would appoint strict constructionists - people who interpret the Constitution literally and narrowly.
Scalia, who has interpreted the Constitution as including no right to abortion because it says nothing about it, would suit Bush as a candidate, the governor implied in his appearance on ABC's ''This Week.''
''That is my idea of a strict constructionist,'' Bush said in the interview at the Iowa governor's mansion.
The abortion question has dogged Bush since last week, when Forbes challenged his commitment to banning the procedure in a series of TV ads.
Bush said yesterday: ''I ran as a prolife candidate, I've been a prolife governor, and my job as the next president, should I earn the respect of the people, is to herald life and to point out the importance of life.''
