It is now out there, and the American people have to deal with it. They must decide whether the event should influence their decision next Tuesday. The American people are incredibly forgiving. They just might chalk this up as a youthful indiscretion. Bush said he never spoke of the incident because he didn't want his twin daughters to know about it.
Any parent can understand the dilemma.
But in this day and age, a presidential candidate has to know that an arrest record sitting in some file cabinet somewhere will eventually surface. The daughter argument was the same tact that President Clinton took during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Republicans pummeled Clinton mercilessly over that defense. The questions don't go to just Bush and his staff either. Every Member of Congress and those running for the Senate will get to weigh in today and over the weekend.