Mic Picks Up Bush Remark About Reporter

Comments Were 'Not Intended As A Public Comment'

NAPERVILLE, Ill., Updated 6:11 p.m. EDT September 5, 2000 -- George W. Bush made a disparaging remark Monday about a reporter from The New York Times that was picked up by a live microphone.

As Bush stood on the podium waiting for music to finish, he turned to running mate Dick Cheney and used an obscenity to describe reporter Adam Clymer in the nearby press area. Cheney agreed with Bush's assessment. Both men thought their remarks were off-mike.

The dialogue:

Bush: "There's Adam Clymer, a major league (expletive) from The New York Times."

Cheney: "Oh, yeah, he is, big time."

Karen Hughes, Bush's spokeswoman, said that the remarks were "a whispered aside to his running mate. It was not intended as a public comment."

Clymer said, "I'm disappointed in the governor's language."

Cheney refused to discuss it.

"The governor made a private comment to me. It was a private comment, and I don't plan to say anything about it," he told reporters later in Chicago.

Gore made no direct reference to the Bush remark, but he praised the reporters traveling with him for their stamina.

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Copyright 2001 by NewsNet5. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.