Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush admitted on Thursday he had been arrested 24 years ago for drunken driving and said he had kept it secret because he "didn't want to talk about this in front of my daughters."
Bush, running neck-and-neck with Democratic rival Al Gore, also questioned the timing of the report -- five days before the Nov. 7 election -- saying, "I have my suspicions."
The Gore campaign denied any involvement in leaking the news.
"I'm not proud of that. I've often said that years ago I made some mistakes," Bush said. "I regret that it happened. But it did ... I stopped drinking 14 years ago and I haven't had a drop since."
Asked why he had not disclosed the incident earlier, Bush said:
"I didn't want my girls to do the same thing. I'm not trying to get away with anything. I didn't want to talk about this in front of my daughters. I didn't want them drinking and driving. It was a decision I made."
Bush said he was arrested after a drinking session with former Australian tennis star John Newcombe. In the car as well were Newcombe's wife and two other people.
Bush campaign spokeswoman Karen Hughes said Bush, who was 30 at the time, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of driving while under the influence, paid a US$150 fine, and had his license temporarily suspended in the state of Maine.
The incident happened while Bush was visiting the Bush family compound in Kennebunkport, Maine. The Kennebunkport Police Station said Bush's license was suspended for 30 days.
Hughes disclosed the Sept. 4, 1976 incident to reporters at the foot of Bush's campaign plane as he prepared to fly to Milwaukee for a campaign rally.
Mike Curry, of WCSH-TV, the NBC affiliate in Portland, Maine, that broke the story, told CNN the station had not received any tips from the Democratic Party.
Instead, he said a reporter had overhead three lawyers talking about the incident at a court house in Portland, and then followed up and confirmed it. Curry declined to speculate how the lawyers had learned of the arrest and he did not identify them.
Hughes, who echoed Bush in questioning the timing of the report, said: "I hope this mistake the governor made 24 years ago would not have an impact in the final days of this election."
But she insisted that Bush had often acknowledged that he made mistakes while he was drinking and that he decided to quit drinking altogether 14 years ago.
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