ery few Americans, we suspect, will change their presidential vote as a result of the news that Texas Governor George W. Bush pled guilty to a drunken-driving charge 24 years ago, when he was 30. Bush has admitted to ''youthful'' lapses, including a drinking problem, which he has put in his past.
The issue of most concern for voters now is whether Bush's handling of this part of his personal story during the current campaign shows good judgment. The overriding theme of Bush's campaign has been his pledge to restore a sense of decency to Washington. ''Good leaders,'' he said just last week, ''create a climate of honesty and integrity.'' Candidates who try to run moralistic crusades risk being tripped up by their own personal histories.
When the drunken-driving story broke on Thursday, Bush was forthright in accepting responsibility for the incident. But he and his campaign quickly tried to divert attention onto the source of the story, suggesting that it was gotcha journalism in the last week of the campaign - the result, as top aide Karen Hughes charged, of ''Democratic dirty tricks.''
This is troubling. ''Dirty tricks'' is a term from the Nixon era, when political thugs burglarized offices and committed other crimes to smear opponents unfairly. Making public a legitimate court record is hardly a dirty trick. As for gotcha journalism, the sure way of avoiding that is to put embarrassing records into the public domain before someone else does. Bush's running mate, Dick Cheney, did exactly that, talking candidly about two DUI arrests in the early '60s. He quickly succeeded in making this part of his past a nonissue.
Bush could have done the same, and should have. That he didn't leaves an uncomfortable sense that he was trying to hide something. Other questions about his past, including a gap in his National Guard service, remain.
Bush can complain about the fact that this story broke during the last week of the campaign, but it is also frustrating to the voters and to Vice President Al Gore. There is a wide gulf of difference between Bush and Gore on the future direction of the country, and this page believes that the more voters scrutinize these differences the better it will be for Gore. The distraction caused by the drunken-driving story may in fact divert attention from these issues just when Gore needs it most.
Part of this story may be ancient history, but part is still relevant. One lesson is that an observation Bush made last week applies equally to himself. He said: ''For too long, our culture has sent the message, `If it feels good, do it. If you've got a problem, blame somebody else.' Each of us must understand we are responsible for the choices we make in life.''
