CANDIDATE GRANTS INTERVIEW DURING DRIVE

It isn't every day you hitch a ride with a presidential candidate.

But there I was Thursday morning, seated in a car with Texas Gov. George W. Bush as he departed from Drury Suites hotel in Cape Girardeau for a campaign stop 15 minutes away at the Southeast Missouri Regional Port near Scott City.

I was the lone reporter in the vehicle. Also crowded into the vehicle for the chauffeured drive were Bush's communications director, U.S. Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond and U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson.

Bush turned sideways in his seat to better talk to me during the short trip.

He spent the entire time answering questions and looking me in the eye, never once stopping to look at the scenery as we drove south on Interstate 55 with the air conditioning on full blast.

For Republican Bush, the road to the White House goes through Missouri.

Missouri, he says, is a bellwether state in presidential politics. He expects to campaign often in Missouri as the 2000 election kicks into high gear.

Missouri's March 7 primary occurs on the same date as a number of other primaries.

Southeast Missouri, he says, is a lot like Texas where many conservative Democrats have latched onto the Republican Party.

Bush comments on everything from tax cuts to Rush Limbaugh.

Fresh from his Wednesday night visit with Limbaugh, Bush jokes about "Slimbaugh," a reference to the fact that the conservative radio-talk-show host and Cape Girardeau native son has lost weight.

Bush and Limbaugh have more than politics in common: Both are avid baseball fans.

Limbaugh used to work for the Kansas City Royals and is friends with baseball great George Brett.

Bush at one time was the managing general partner of the Texas Rangers baseball team.

Bush says his most important job isn't being governor or even running for president; it is being a father to 17-year-old twin daughters.

Bush called his daughters in Texas Thursday morning before leaving the hotel. He wanted to know about the start of the new school year at the girls' high school.

Bush talks about a compassionate conservative philosophy grounded in moral values.

"I don't need to take polls to find out what I believe," says Bush.

So what does he do when he isn't talking politics? "I like to fish. I'm just not doing enough of it," he says with a smile.

Although his father was president, Bush says he never set out to be president. But he thinks he can do a good job and views the Texas governorship as the perfect training ground.

"Texas is a big place," he says. If it were a separate nation, it would have the 11th largest economy in the world, he proudly observes.

Bush says his dad offers campaign advice but only when asked. The same can't be said of Barbara Bush.

"My mother tells me advice when I don't ask," he says.