Less-Muddy-Than-Thou List Compiled by Bush Campaign

The Bush campaign, accused by Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton of mudslinging, responded Sunday by unleashing a vitriolic compendium of nasty things that Clinton and other Democrats have said about Bush.

The campaign styled its broadside in the form of a snide who-said-what quiz for Clinton.

It was headlined: “Sniveling Hypocritical Democrats: Stand Up and Be Counted--On Second Thought, Shut Up and Sit Down!”

Among the questions:

--”Which campaign had to spend thousands of taxpayer dollars on private investigators to fend off ‘bimbo eruptions?’ ”

--”Which candidate . . . admitted there was a deliberate ‘pattern of omission’ in his answers on marijuana use?”

--”Who called George Bush a tax evader . . . ‘that fellow who claims Texas so he doesn’t have to pay taxes in Maine?’ ”

The answers to these, according to the Bush campaign, are Clinton, his aides or other Democrats. Several of the quotes came from Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles), party Chairman Ronald H. Brown and others. Of the 22 quotes posed as questions, only two of them came from Clinton.

The release, faxed to news organizations and distributed to reporters traveling with Bush, capped a weekend of sharp charges and counter-charges between the Bush and Clinton camps.

Bush campaign political director Mary Matalin stirred a controversy last week when she was quoted as saying, “We’ve never said to the press that (Clinton’s) a philandering, pot-smoking draft dodger.” But she said there was “nothing nefarious or subliminal going on.”