road to the white house rewind continues with more from the 1988 campaign of democratic candidate gary hart. just weeks after entering the presidential race, the former colorado senator faced allegations of an extramarital affair with a miami woman named donna rice. next he addresses the charges at a news conference in hand over, new hampshire. our coverage picks up as the news conference gets underway this. portion is just under 40 minutes. >> as i have made clear, i think, to everyone, i have nothing to hide. i made a mistake. i made a series of mistakes in mistakes, in fact. i regret those very much not just for myself but for all

those individuals and the individuals who have been unfairly maligned. my own family, first of all, and for my supporters. we still believe, and i would be willing to go into these at any length you wish, that some very fundamental facts about the events are still not clearly known. i just mentioned three or four since they have been mentioned to me by key supporters and spokespersons on my behalf that they were not aware of. those were, including this, in the events of the evening in question on last saturday, reporters did not confront me. icon fronted them. there was a report that i was, i think, in their words, walking aimlessly about the neighborhood. what i was doing was finding them. and when i found them, icon fronted them. and it was only then that they identified themselves. i knew they were out there and had known that they were -- that someone was surveilling me and my home for some time.

second, i answered questions of those reporters on the spot for 25 minutes or 30, which obviously, i did not need to do. i had nothing to hide, and i -- the allegations that they made, i flatly and vociferously refuted. and well, i wanted to make it clear that there was no avoidance of questioning even at that time. third, i think one very -- or two other things i'd like to mention. the group involved in these reports came and went to my house in broad daylight at twice on saturday afternoon and apparently were not observed by the press organization in question. why that is, i don't know. and they don't have to account for it. the fact of the matter is that except for leaving once or twice through the carport, entry to

and from the house in broad daylight by three or four people went on on saturday during a period when i was supposed to have been in the house only with one other person. finally, as i hope most of you know, we requested a meeting with reporters. mr. broadners particularly did at his home in the company of his guests to the reporters involved. he tracked them down. he found them. it took some doing. he called their headquarters. there was not an answer. he came back to my house, found their photographer, asked where they could be found and found them. he offered if they would not publish their story until he talked to him to clarify the fact and make sure they are not under any miss apprehension. for whatever reason, their own, they chose not do that. finally, let me say a word about my wife, leigh.

she has been, if anything, under more stress because of these events in the last few days than i have. and she continues to astonish me with her strength and her courage. this is, needless to say, not a pleasant thing for anyone. not for me, not for our children, but particularly not for her. she has said that we have been married for 28 years. i hope we're married 28 more. if that work out, and i think it will. but over that 28 years, i have to tell you, there is -- of the people i have met in the world, friends that i have made, this is most extraordinary human being i have ever had the pleasure of knowing not simply as a wife, but as a human being. and she is here today and will be with us on the campaign trail. >> senator, you told me a couple weeks ago in much in that you didn't feel the american people

had any interest in your personal life. do you still maintain that's true? or do you believe that the events that happened whatever the conversion raise questions about your judgment? >> they are two separate questions. i think the answer to both is yes. clearly, they have more interest than i thought they would. second, the issue is that i made a mistake. and the issue is judgment -- like character -- i'd like to talk about judgment if i may because it's not a simple term. people who seek national office or leadership are called upon to make judgments in their personal lives, in their ethical and moral lives, in their family lives. but also decisions affecting literally millions if not hundreds of millions of people, perhaps everyone on the planet. judgments include decisions to go to cemeteries, judgments that

include holding a summit. judgments as i have learn while holding a seat in senate, oppositions to tax cuts. judgments to oppose mx missiles, judgments to stand up against reaganomics when it was very popular. we make judgments in all of our lives. i think if you are going to analyze or evaluate a person's character or ability to lead, then in all fairness you have to evaluate their entire record. the entire history of their public and private lives. and take into account those very hard political and other judgments that have to be made. i have said, i will say again, i made a mistake. i underestimated the way in which the appearance of something wrong going on here could be raised particularly by

those who didn't get all the facts and it was something i shouldn't have done. >> you stressed on a couple of occasions here you have been reported to not adequately diligent. [ inaudible ] and yet they have said several times, repeatedly that out on the street they asked you repeatedly for an opportunity to speak with the woman which turned out to be miss rice and you would not let that happen. tell me what happened on the street. >> i didn't think it was fair. they asked me about the comings and goings. they alleged at that time that she stayed at my house. i said that's absolutely not true. can we talk to her. at that time, speaking of judgments, i made a judgment. i said i would not identify the three people. they said where is she now. i said in my house. who is she with.

i said with friends. they were very suspicious. it was my judgment that i was not entitled to updies them to some sort of scrutiny or slander without asking them. i didn't identify her or her friend or ms. broadhurst. but they chose themselves. it was not within my purview to bring someone else into this without discussing it with them first. >> senator hart -- senator in talking to a number of leading politicians yesterday about this, i was struck by the fact that a majority of the ones that i talked to did not believe your story. and the reason they said they didn't believe your story is that all of them either had heard rumors or claimed to know of previous incidents of this sort during the past 15 years. have there been times during the

past 15 years other than the period when you were separated from your wife when you have spent time with women in the manner that you did with ms. rice this weekend? >> the answer to the question is no. explanation. in the manner that i did this weekend. my wife said this morning, i understand, and accurately so, during the latter part of the 20th century. she has friends who are men. i have friends who are women. most of them are friends of both of ours. she has gone to dinner with men friends and i've gone to dinner and elsewhere with women friends. in almost every case with people my wife knew or we have been long time personal acquaintances. i have had dinner on the road with reporters of both genders. they have always been in open, in the public. someone reminded me earlier today that on a recent campaign trip a number of us after a hard day on the campaign trail including staff, myself, and

some journalists -- several journalists ended up having dinner, cocktails at dinner and ended up dancing. now a news organization taking a picture of me on the dance floor with a woman could have made a great deal out of that. there was nothing there. the answer is no. >> why is it that you -- do you think that so many people, people who have known you or dealt with you, some were supporters, some were not, some were neutral, why is it so many people have this impression of you? >> i don't know. i would dispute so many. i have no way of knowing what that number is. part of it goes with being in public life. i think a lot of people, stends depending on their age or circumstances are more suspect of misbehavior than others. it is not just politics. people in businesses, people in entertainment. it's just how the more visible you become the more you are subjected to that kind of scrutiny, speculation, often

innuendo and gossip. my mistake frankly was underestimating that. being -- let me put it the other way around. if i had intended a relationship with this woman, believe me, i have written spy novels. i am not stupid. if i wanted to bring someone into a house or an apartment or meet with a woman in secret, i wouldn't have done it this way. and even the back entrance to our house which is the one i almost use, the carport entrance is exposed, is visible from the street. as i said about the comings and goings on saturday there was clearly no intention there to hide. and that's when i was clear that the place was surrounded by somebody went out in front of it. it was a mistake. i cannot account for everyone's analysis. i think frankly part of it may

have been our separations and the fact that i did go out publicly with other people during that period. and we were very open. and leigh and i were very open about our situation. >>. [ overlapping speakers ] >> these people came and went on saturday from your house in broad daylight. yet at the time, you spoke with the reporters from the herald to say those three people were in your house. >> yes. >> but they had come and gone during daylight. >> yes, they came back. >> they came back, all three of them? >> yes. >> senator how are you going to convince people in the democratic party to raise money and the organizing folks given the kind of rhetoric that mr. loopberg mentioned. how are you going to ensure that you are not going to make this kind of mistake on personal

behavior again? >> by not doing it. >> these are people who think they want to pick a winner this year. they don't want you to blow i. how are you going to tell them you won't do it again. >> i won't do it. i'll tell them. my view strongly is as time goes on people are going to want to know about your judgment and the character on the issues that affect their lives and their families and this nation. that's what this campaign is going to be about. as we go on, and i demonstrate that kind of leadership and this story gets proper perspective, i'll be able to demonstrate it. we had a very successful event last night in new yo, as you know. to my knowledge, i won't say absolute, but i think said very strong support from our clinical and financial. >> it's confusing. there are points on which you

and ms. rice seem the differ. one of them about is the boat trip to about himmany. >> yes. >> you said you spent the night because the customs office as closed. the customs office said that makes no difference. >> i will tell you what i know. when the boat arrived it was late afternoon, coming on dusk -- i don't know what time it was but it was very late afternoon. the point was to go over the boat which was there, had been repaired and return to miami that night. mr. rogers told me that the captain told him -- we waited around on the dock for about half an hour, 45 minutes, there was no customs, the captain went in search of the customs. i was not involved in any of this whatsoever. i actually was talking to some boat people, people on other boats that were cooking their dinner. i had my picture taken with them. i was not hiding or skull,ing around.

there was people all over the place. we went finally without anyone coming and stamping any papers we filled out some forms. over to mr. rogers boat. stayed on that boat for a while. -- -- as early as 7:00 or so, i don't recall the exact time. the captain had to wait until 8:00. whatever had to be done. i'm just telling you what i was toechld i have no independent way of verifying it. >> the second matter concerns the phone calls from the road or to the road, whichever way it was. ms. rice these were phone calls mainly from you she says to discuss the media's attention to the womanizing issue. you said those were calls from her to you to talk about a campaign job. what is it. >> the key words in those explanations the conversations were primarily political.

she asked who she should talk to in the campaign about getting involved in t. it was in recollecting that meeting that she said if i were to get involved in in campaign, could i -- what can i do? can i raise money, can i get these people involved? and it was discussions along that line. my questions of her were who are your contacts? who are your friends? should we put you in touch with one financial part of the kpin or another? we had general conversations. she said how are things going. i said i'm being beaten up by lots of rumors. we did discuss that. i returned calls, and she and place one or two calls to -- she did not have my number. didn't call me directly. she did contact mr. broadhurst and i called her back and her question was, i'm coming up with

her friend on that tweaked and could i or couldn't i. and i said that's really between you and her. >> senator, if you did not know the names, but you read about two men in their 50s, married, who spent a weekend spending most of their time -- maybe not on line, with two young women in their 20s, and then again to a trip to this island of about himmany, would you believe that that was a totally innocent event? and can't you agree that this really stretches the credituality of the american public? >> no. i think all four people assert the absolute innocence of their behavior. i don't know that anyone is speculating about any relationship between mr. broadhurst and the woman he was hiring, but there was none and to my knowledge, is none. i think the focus came to me for offers reasons.

the point being that it is possible for modern times, whether people are 50, 60, 70, or 20 or 25, spend time together and not be intimately involved. this society is changing. let me -- well i'll answer your question with another question. i am not -- person. i make mistakes. i said i was going to. and i z. i might make some more. i won't make this one. i'm a human being. believe me, if my intent was to have a relationship with a woman, particularly a very attractive woman, i certainly wouldn't have gone about it this way. >> what would you have done? how could it have been different than to spend this time alone with this woman in this house on weekend where your wife is out of town. >> at my house in washington, which everybody knows where it is. coming in and out of the front door. >> senator hart, there is a restaurant in the city of bar

harbor now that is saying that you signed the guest book on the evening of february 12th, that you were part of a party of four people in that restaurant at that time, won of whom was donna rice and the photo has been identified by employees of the restaurant. >> i was -- it's all true up to that point. i don't remember the name of the restaurant. it was across from the hotel where the labor conference was being held. i did not see ms. rice between what was i guess new year's or the day after new years and the day she came on the boat where mr. broadhurst and i were in march. absolutely do not. >> who was in the booth with you that night? >> well, there were more than four people. and my recollection is that they were people with the convention. i had had dinner with about 40 or 50 labor leaders in that complex. it was right across the hotel. i can't remember the name of the hotel. we'll get it for you.

it was a large shopping complex. after dinner a group of about -- my recollection was six or seven -- i'll try to find the names for you. >> sharon bar hart -- >> sharon bar hard, yes. >> there is a new poll out that's going to be released at 6:00 by the boston herald to the new hampshire democratic voters. one week ago in that poll you were leading governor dukakis, tied with him, 32-32%. you have dropped today to 17%. he is holding at 27% with 74% of those surveyed saying they think this whole issue will have a very negative impact on your candidacy. will you respond to that, please. >> i think that's true, but i think the impact will be short-term. >> senator, following up on that question, one of the reasons people have difficulty believing your story is the question of the phone calls to somebody who you say is a casual acquaintance. yet you talk to her about half a

dozen times in a short period. is that normal for you to talk to somebody you berry know while campaigning -- >> sometimes, i make a good deal of phone calls. i wouldn't say it's ordinary. but it is a not extraordinary either. it seemed to me there are -- actually one of the fund-raising goals i have is to put together some music groups that have not been together for a while. she knew some members of one of those groups. and it seemed to me that it could be quite important to the campaign to try to put that together. if it had had happened it might have resulted in a good deal of money. i spend a good deal of time on phones with people who can raise money. some are attractive and some of them are not. >> senator, you said yesterday that you perceive this as being common and appropriate behavior. did you ever stop to think during the course of this that these activities were coincidental with some statements that you had made about rumors that you didn't step back and say maybe this is going to be perceived as such

and i shouldn't be doing this? >> yes -- the answer is yes and no. it occurred to me, i guess, at every step. what i didn't do is put the steps together. if i go in the front door, does that look bad? no. if you don't stay there. if you leave. everybody should have gone back out the front door because there was a monitor there. it was the pattern, i guess, that was the mistake. one entry, one departure, i think it wouldn't have been a problem. the three or four instances put together that led to the -- >> [ overlapping speakers ] >> you raised in your remarks yesterday you raised the issue of morality and you raised the issue of truthfulness. let me ask you what you mean when you talk about morality. and let me be very specific. and i have a series of questions about it. when you said you did nothing immoral, did you mean that you had no sexual relationship with

donna rice last weekend or at any other time you were with her? >> that's correct. >> do you believe that adultery is immoral? >> yes. >> have you ever committed adultery. >> i do not want to answer that question. >> it seems to me that the question of morality. >> you get into fairly fine definitions. >> the word was brought by you into this discussion. i need to know what your definition of your definition of morality is. >> it includes adealtery. >> have you ever committed adultery. >> i'm not going into the definition of what adultery means. >> can i ask you whether or not you and your wife have an understanding about whether or not you can have relations with -- you can have sexual encounters. >> my inclination is to say you

can't ask me that question, my answer is no, we don't have an understanding, we have an understanding of faithfulness and loyalty. >> senator, donna rice's mother in carolina said today she can't go out of her house, she can't go to work, that her daughter is devastated, it may ruin her life. have you called donna rice, her mother, are you planning to apologize? >> no. i think for obvious reasons. i think that just raises all kinds of other questions of have you talked to her since. i will do so publicly and say that i very much regret the events that have negatively impacted her life, her friends' lives, her daughter's life, and all the others that i mentioned earlier. i have stated that i made a mistake. probably made a series of mistakes. but i happen to believe had other people done their job and everybody not made mistakes, none of us would be in this circumstance tonight.

there is plenty of -- >> is it your understanding that donna rice went to ibmanie. >> she didn't force her way onto the boat. we decided, mr. broadhurst and i to go over to his boat. and she was on board the boat, and we asked her to go with us. >> did you or mr. broadhurst invite her on the trip? >> i don't recall. three or four of us were standing around. >> how did you get on the boat? >> just walked on the boat. >> she said you called on the phone and invited her on the boat. specifically you. >> yes, she came on the boat. at the back of the boat we talked about the fund-raising and her participation in the campaign and the contacts she had in the entertainment community. and about midday or shortly there after, mr. broadhurst talked to the captain, said let's take the boat out, if it's all right, let's go out into open water and see what it's

like and if it's clear enough i'd like to go to ibmany and see my boat. i suppose at one point we told she and her friend what we were going to do, do you want to go along. i don't recall whether i said do you want to go to ibmany or he did, but that was the discussion. >> did you call and invite her specifically on any trips. >> i invited her on the boat. >> on your telephone. >> she wanted to get involved in the campaign. i said leave -- as i always do, thousands of people, give me your name, i didn't frankly recall her last name, your address, and your phone number. i called the next day, said would you like to come back and talk. and she did. then we talked about going on. >> senator, did you ever specifically invite donna rice to take a trip with you? >> no. >> senator, how many times have you met? >> senator, i'm sorry to follow

up on paul taylor's question. [ inaudible ] discussion of morality as you see it except for the times when you and your wife were separated, has your marriage been monogamous? >> i have nothing to answer that question. >> senator, you've said that you made a mistake. what specifically was the mistake? and why did you make it? >> the mistake was to have people -- what was could get engaged in a seefrz activities last weekend that led you to believe that i was involved with a woman. there were lots of parts of that mistakes that i could single out. but i also said i don't think i was alone in making mistakes. look, folks, there is some thing called fairness in this society. there is something called fairness. i'm going through this, and i

will continue to. and i'm going to answer questions. i'm doing my best and i will continue to do my best. but this, as i said yesterday, there is a broader issue here than what i did or didn't do. that is whether the system of select national leaders is fair or not. i'm going to insist that this be a fair -- you can ask me about adultery and ask me whatever question you want. believe mai me my wife and i have answered more questions than anybody in public life, and we'll probably have to continue to. and i regret it. i have a right to demand that the system is fair. if somebody is going to follow me around, they better follow me around and they better print all the facts. >> just to follow up on tom's question, if you feel you don't have to answer about adultery and whether or not the relationship was monogamous, why is it necessary to say whether or not you in fact had sexual

relations with donna rice? >> a lot of difference between one person and her reputation than getting into the most intimate aspects of a long-term marriage. and i don't intend to stress my wife out. >> senator, can you please tell us -- [ overlapping speakers ] >> you are campaign this week -- you are cutting -- your aides say you wanted to spend more time together with your wife. is that a factor or what? >> that will be a result of. that obviously i wanted that. >> senator can you tell us specifically when in the course of this campaign you have seen donna rice? and tell us exactly when, and all the times. >> all very repetitious. i met miss rice at a party of 40 or 50 people or more and asked her, i think new year's day or the next day.

i did not remember her name. subsequently, and not any time before, i went aboard the boat after a fund-raising event in miami with mr. broadhurst and mr. broadhurst alone. there was no -- there were no invitations for anyone to join us. there was no plan for anyone to join us. i was there for a day and a half or two to relax. about 11:30 that night, a group of about a dozen or 15 people showed up at the boat. then having dinner the man who came on board the boat knew the owner and said i want to show my friends this boat can we come aboard. we said of course. the crew took them aboard. they circulated on the boat. we talked to a few of them, said hello, how are you. talked about miami or anything else. i don't know. miss rice came up, introduced herself, said we met -- you won't recall this but we met at

mr. henley's party in aspen. you were with your wife, i was helping serve the meal. i generally remembered that. we talked 15 minutes. i talked 30 or 40 minutes to other people in that party, men and women. i went up above and down below. her conversation and mine took place in a space no bigger than that and could not have been more than ten minutes. she said i've never been involved with a campaign, i'd like to, maybe i can help with entertainers, how do you do that. i said leave her name, i can tell you i did not remember her last name. she wrote down her name and address and number. and left it on the boat. then came the ibmany trip. then the only other time i saw her was this weekend in washington. that's it. >> did you ever have intimate relationships with donna rice

while you were separated or not. >> no. >> senator, you are indicating that you made a mistake. has your -- apart from the allegations of sexual impropridy has your image suffered in another way in that you will be perceived as someone who attends don henley parties and goes on vacations on expensive yachts. and is more of a jet-setter than you would like. >> i think i had on jeans at don henley's house, as others did. there were all kinds of people there. i have known people in the entertainment industry for many years. people in colorado knew that. some of those people campaigned for me in 1980. that's no secret. people know who i am. >> senator you indicated that you made a mistake in judgment in permitting these appearances of improprietiy. you have been in politics for a long time. you have run for president

before. even accepting your version of events, some people in politics have suggested that this suggests sort of a recklessness on your part, flirting with danger, if you will. can you address that issue? >> i once said i love dang he. i don't love it that much. no. i just didn't use good judgment that's all. i used very poor judgment. >> senator -- >> i shouldn't have done it. if i were up to anything that i shouldn't have been, i sure wouldn't have done it that way. >> senator -- can you senator just describe how you perceive your relationship with miss rice, what kind of a friendship or what -- >> friendship. she's intelligent. attractive, obviously. but we don't -- you don't form that kind of relationship that's

being suggested here in that space of time. >> senator the washington times reported that a passenger on the plane that miss rice flew on had seen an inscription in a book that said something in lieu of flowers, until we meet, love gary. did you make that inscription. >> i don't think i made that inscription. i probably made one that i shouldn't have. it didn't reflect on any intimacy. i suppose i sign or distribute dozens of one book or another that i've written over a period of time, and probably in the space of a week or two, maybe in the hundreds. i cannot -- i frankly will tell you cannot recall what i said in there. but i might have said something like that, but i couldn't verify. >> senator hart, how is your fund-raising going? will this affect it adversely. >> we obviously -- as i said, two tests we've had of that, one

in new york last night, which is a difficult time to raise money in. i've been trying over the years. we exceeded both anticipation and the revenue we targeted. to my knowledge, there were -- no one dropped out of. that i think some of you may have been there, and i think you can verify the atmosphere in the room. i thought it was quite warm. i didn't run into anyone there who said you have got serious problems on your hands or this is my last act ever support. in fact it was quite the opposite. the personal response that i got ahead of time was very, very positive. our -- in routine, obviously intensified over the last two or three days. our campaign has been in contact with our key financial supporters, and even they obviously -- well not obviously -- have been under siege from other candidates trying to pick me off. to my knowledge, and i don't

want to be categorical here because i can't be, no one has acknowledged there interest in leaving. >> some people think your relationship and dealings with miss rice indicate a certain willingness to take risks considering the situation you were in. >> that's what we were talking about. >> others ask if you are willing to take these kinds of risks when you are the frn in a campaign for president what kind of risk taking would you be engaging in as president? >> as i said earlier, i think in response to mr. shogun's question or someone over here, we were talking about the issue of judgment and character. my position is -- and i feel very strongly about it, that character and judgment, among other quality of leadership, determination, will, commitment, and the rest, competent tent are tested over time and are tested in a variety of ways. i would submitted -- and i think

a fair assessment of my character and judgment and leadership ability would have to include my entire public life, and indeed as it has my entire personal life before that public life. and i'm perfectly willing to submit that entire life to scrutiny. other people in public life have made mistakes. some of them have been a lot worse than mine. some of them have gone on to become presidents, some of them have become very good presidents. some of them hundreds of years after they have been brilliant presidents are still scrutinized in their personal lives. i've learned a lot in the last few days. i've already suggested that the major lesson is even innocently, you can't do something that's going to give anybody the impression of something that's not innocent. but i also learned that there is a terrible terrible price to pay for being in public life these days. >> we have time for two more questions. two more questions.

go, kevin. >> people in the american public looking at your relationship with this woman, knowing that you had thrown down gauntlet as it were to the press corps saying follow me, that was a risk. would you say it was risky what you did? >> i didn't think so, of it at the time in terms of as i say, going to din e inviting these people into my house to see it and me going out that afternoon having worked all morning on the speech that i gave yesterday. any of those individual actions is risky. looking back on it now, if someone had said ahead of time, if you did this, if you did this, if you did this, and if you did this, could that be interpreted this way? obviously. but i was tired. i didn't think about it that way. i was not calculating anything. i just did what seemed to come naturally because it was innocent. >> senator, when we had the conversation on the plane where you said follow me, i have two questions.

one, there was a young woman on the plane who is described as a friend of mr. broadhurst. was that donna rice. >> what plane were we on? >> the plane from austin to denver. >> no. there was not donna rice. >> where do you rank adultery on the list of acts by which you judge a politician or a president. ? >> i'd like to follow up on julia's question, how are you to persuade us or anyone who has looked at this story given that you did sign a book with this woman, did you go on a cruise with her, you spent relaxed casual time with her in washington -- how can you convince us or anyone that your story is true? what can you tell us. >> i can tell you the facts and leave it up to you and the public to believe them. if you don't believe me, there is nothing i can do. i have told you the facts, mr. broadhurst told you the facts,

ms. rice has told you the facts. that's the best we can do. next on road to the white house rewind, democratic candidate gary hart withdraws from the 1988 presidential race less than a month after his campaign began. the former colorado senator facedle gagss of a extramarital affair with a miami woman named donna rice. in this ten minute event in denver, the former colorado senator continued to deny the affair saying he was quitting the race to spare his family and friends from quote further rumors and gossip. michael dukakis won the 1988 democratic nomination but lost to george h.w. bush in the general election. >> thank you very much. [ applause ] apologize fore being late. there was a little traffic coming down bear creek canyon this morning. i intended, quite frankly, to come down here this morning and read a short carefully worded political