Bush campaign: Not taking questions from local press

GOP presidential candidate George W. Bush will make a major policy statement on land conservation when he speaks Thursday at Lake Tahoe - but isn't taking any follow-up questions from local media.

The Tahoe Daily Tribune has made numerous attempts over a three-week span to schedule an interview. However, according to Bush's campaign representatives, he was not available for a 10-minute interview or a brief phone comment.

Bush scheduled interviews with reporters in Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona earlier in the week as he started a five-state tour that will end in California.

But Bush campaign spokeswoman Mindy Tucker said because of the nature of his speech Thursday, the format changes in Nevada - where there's intense interest in his views on gambling and a proposed federal dump for radioactive waste.

Asked about a question-and-answer session with Bush after his Tahoe speech, Tucker said, ''We typically don't do them when the governor makes a major policy announcement.''

Tucker said the same format - no follow-up questions - was used when Bush made a policy statement on Social Security issues in mid-May while on a Southern California campaign stop.

"It 's our standard procedure after a policy statement not to take follow-up questions and (today) he will be announcing a major statement dealing with conservation and the environment," Ari Fleischer, Governor Bush's spokesman, told the Tribune Wednesday night.

Bush will have Lake Tahoe for a stunning backdrop when he gives his speech. He'll be flanked by fellow Republican Govs. Kenny Guinn of Nevada, Jim Geringer of Wyoming and Bill Owens of Colorado.

During his first campaign stop in Nevada, the Texas governor will speak to about 500 invited guests at Sand Harbor state park, on the lake's east shore. The speech will focus in part on Tahoe, said Guinn, who heads the Bush campaign in Nevada.

Guinn also said about 300 people are expected at a $1,000-a-plate fund-raiser to be held later at Glenbrook. The event is being held at property owned by Larry Ruvo, a major Nevada liquor distributor.

Demonstrators plan to rally at the entrance to the exclusive Tahoe community. While Bush has defended his record on the environment as Texas governor, Democrats claim he'd be soft on polluters if elected president.

Bush, was scheduled to arrive in Reno late Wednesday from Phoenix, also will hold a second, smaller fund-raiser for Republican candidates that could run as much as $20,000 a couple.

Guinn said it's unlikely that Bush will expand on his position on the future of a nuclear waste dump at Nevada's Yucca Mountain.

Bush said May 3 that, if elected president, he wouldn't sign legislation that ''would send nuclear waste to any proposed site unless it's been deemed scientifically safe.''

Guinn said the statement shows that Bush would be opposed to a dump in Nevada without proof of its safety, a position similar to that held by President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore, the likely Democratic nominee for president.

But Nevada Democratic Party officials said Bush didn't say whether he'd follow Clinton's example and veto bills that would push the dump on the state.

In visiting Tahoe, Bush is borrowing an idea from Clinton and Gore, who were at the lake, on the California-Nevada border, for an environmental summit meeting in 1997.

Guinn said the visit by Bush is important for Nevada and especially important for Lake Tahoe. A commitment now from Bush that the lake is a national treasure that deserves federal funds for its preservation will help tremendously if he's elected president, Guinn said.

- Tribune Staff Writers contributed to this report.