"I'm not proud of that. I made some mistakes. I occasionally drank too much, and I did that night. I learned my lesson." Bush said he was not jailed after the arrest. "I told the guy (the arresting officer) I had been drinking, what do I need to do? He said, 'here's the fine.' I paid the fine."Bush said the timing of the initial news report, just days before Americans elect a new president, was "interesting." When asked where the story may have originated, he said, "I've got my suspicions."
Campaign aides of Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore and officials with the Democratic National Committee both said they first learned of the arrest from news reports Thursday and said it would be inappropriate to comment on the matter.
Gore spokesman Chris Lehane said the vice president learned of the story while flying from Chicago to a campaign event in El Paso, Texas.
Kevin Kelly, news director of WPXT, a Fox television affiliate station in Portland, Maine, said his station broke the story after one of its reporters learned of the arrest while covering an unrelated matter at the local courthouse.
"Somebody made a reference to it," Kelly said. The reporter followed up with phone calls, including one to the Maine Department of Secretary of State. Kelly said the department responded with a fax that detailed the 1976 arrest. Kelly said the reporter also talked to the arresting officer, who verified the incident.
Kennebunkport Police told CNN on Thursday night that the charge against Bush -- operating under the influence of intoxicating liquor -- was a Class D misdemeanor.
Karen Hughes, Bush's spokeswomen said the 54-year-old Texas governor, who has been open about his past drinking problems, had not publicly disclosed the arrest because not even his 18-year-old twin daughters were aware of it. He has said he gave up drinking the day after his 40th birthday.
