ARRISBURG, Pa. - Governor George W. Bush, who has long pledged to rise above personal attacks in his presidential campaign, used some of his harshest language yet to ridicule his opponent's administration yesterday, calling President Clinton ''desperate'' for getting involved in the race.
Appearing amused by reports that Clinton had called him a rich kid whose ''daddy was president,'' Bush said: ''You know something? I welcome President Clinton's criticism.''
''It's amazing to me that the president of the United States would spend time trying to be a political pundit,'' Bush said. ''He's so desperate to have his legacy intact by getting Al Gore elected, he'll say anything, just like Al Gore will.''
Bush made his comments one day after his father, Clinton's predecessor, George Bush, threatened to ''tell the nation what I think'' about Clinton if he continued bad-mouthing his son. Still, the Texas governor held firm to the notion that he is not attacking his opponent. Speaking with reporters on the fifth day of his slow procession toward the Republican National Convention, Bush said he makes references to Clinton - and his impeachment trial in particular - only in reaction to comments by voters.
Bush denied that his frequent references to morality and ''restoring honor and dignity to the White House'' were aimed specifically at Clinton. And Bush's wife, who the night before made similar comments in her debut convention speech, sounded indignant at the suggestion that she had made a personal attack. The night before, Laura Bush had said: ''I want my son or daughter to respect the president of the United States.''
''I wasn't talking about President Clinton,'' Laura Bush told reporters yesterday, interrupting her husband to answer a question about her speech. ''I was talking about my husband, and what that means when people come up with pictures of their children and say that.''
Bush stepped in. ''That's reality,'' he said. ''When people walk up to us and say, `Don't let us down,' we're just reporting what's happening, and I don't think I've ever mentioned President Clinton's name on the stump recently.''
Hours later, he did.
Speaking at a rally at a West Virginia war memorial in Charleston, Bush told a cheering crowd: ''This nation does not want four more years of Clinton-Gore.'' Afterward, Bush sheepishly admitted the questions about Clinton ''got me all riled up.''
Bush is to arrive this morning in Philadelphia, where he will perform a technical rehearsal of his nomination acceptance speech this afternoon. Bush aides yesterday began giving glimmers of what he will discuss, describing the script as a blend of folksy charm and serious policy issues.
But the 45-minute speech is clearly intended to shore up the down-home image Bush has crafted. Although he will share his ''personal history'' and describe his upbringing in Midland, Texas, Bush will not make so much as a passing reference to his degrees from two Ivy League universities, Yale and the Harvard Business School.
''I don't think they define him as much as Midland does,'' Bush spokeswoman Karen Hughes said of the New England schools, where Bush spent six years.
Bush, who rarely strays from his stump speech, will also repeat phrases he has said countless times on the campaign trail over the last year, including his promise for his swearing-in as president to uphold the vows of the office ''So help me God.''
But as he visited with reporters on his campaign plane - newly painted with the ''Bush-Cheney'' logo - Bush had little chance to promote his upcoming speech. Instead, he faced a battery of questions about racial issues, especially the speech given at the Republican convention the night before by retired General Colin L. Powell, who made an unusually firm plea for the Republican Party not to abandon affirmative action for minorities.
Bush chose not to go into the details of his stance on affirmative action. Although he lauded Powell's speech, Bush hewed to the general position he has long espoused, which encourages ''affirmative access'' and disapproves of quotas. Asked directly how he felt about affirmative action and Powell's remarks, Bush replied: ''I don't know what specific policies he had in mind.''
But he said, ''In my state of Texas, we took a very positive step toward ensuring the racial mix of Texas universities reflected the nature of our population.'' And he pledged to make a similar effort as president. ''We've got to do a better job of recruiting minorities to our party. And I'm going to make that happen.''
Bush said he had not reviewed Powell's speech in advance. But the two men talked on the phone, and when Powell described his intended remarks, Bush said he told the retired general: ''`Please do, we've got an important message to send.'''
