Alexander Flirts With 2000 Bid

Former Tennessee governor Lamar Alexander, who unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for president in 1996, is moving ahead with a possible bid to lead the GOP ticket in 2000.

Alexander, who planned to form a presidential exploratory committee Friday, went on the offensive against a potential Republican rival for the White House, Texas Gov. George W. Bush, and Vice President Al Gore.

Alexander said in a telephone interview Thursday that he has a problem with Bush's "compassionate conservatism."

"Those are weasel words," he said. "Compassionate conservative is just like Al Gore talking about 'practical idealism.' They're designed to mean nothing."

"When you say 'compassionate conservative,' it sounds like you're saying, 'I'm not like the rest of those politicians who are not compassionate,'"Alexander said. "I think we need to say in plain words, 'I am a conservative.'"

Karen Hughes, spokeswoman for Bush, responded: "When Governor Bush says 'compassionate conservative,' he is saying a conservative philosophy is a compassionate philosophy. Teaching people to read is both compassionate and conservative. Moving people from welfare to work is both compassionate and conservative."

A spokesperson for the vice president, Chris Lehane, said it was "unfortunate" that Alexander "has joined the Republican attack pack by engaging in this politics of personal destruction" rather than focusing on "the best way to prepare America for the 21st century."

Alexander, 59, was Tennessee governor from 1979 to 1987. He also was president of the University of Tennessee and was secretary of education under President George Bush, the Texas governor's father.

Written By Ron Fournier, AP Political Writer