One of your intrepid correspondents for The Gore Years, John Sample, took a few minutes out of his busy day and paid a visit to The Betty Ford Center, where he hooked up for a quick interview with the 2000 Republican candidate for President, George W. Bush.

GY: Thanks for taking the time to visit with us Governor Bush.

W: No problem, John. As you know, I’m always happy to speak candidly to the opposition, even when I’m opposed to it.

GY: Yes, you certainly have acquired that reputation over the years. Well, I don’t want to take up too much of your time, so I’ll just dive in with some questions our readers would love to hear your answers to.

W: Happy to oblige. Obligations, you know, are an American thing — a, uh, well, a real thing that all Americans I think can understand and they’re, well, very real and that sort of thing.

GY: Sure, of course. Well, again, thank you for your time. Can you tell us a bit about what life is like here at the Betty Ford Center?

W: Well, it’s a challenge at times, and it requires diligence, patience. And it is, you know, a constant battle against evil, really. You look into the eyes of folks who’ve been devastated by their disease and you think to yourself, that, evil is all a part of it, and that it is not good. You know, as Americans, we really have a choice to make about which side we’re on, good versus evil. That’s what I’m finding here, people making that choice daily.

GY: So you’re finding it a rewarding experience.

W: Rewarding not so much in that I am actually making any money, no. But I feel richer for it all, yes. And being richer is rewarding.

GY: What do you think of the state of the world? Do you feel President Gore is doing a good job as President?

W: Well, heh-heh, that’s a trick question isn’t it? Well, here again, we’re talking about good and evil, and America has just got to not be supporting evil and we’re not doing that right now. I mean, we’re coddling terrorists with this resumption of relations with the Iranians, who as you know want a bomb and are promoters of evil. If the Iranians were to have a nuclear weapon they could proliferate. And I don’t know that Americans, being good people, will stand for proliferation, of Iranians or anyone else for that matter.

GY: But the Middle East hasn’t entered a period of sustained peace like this in fifty years. Doesn’t that account for something?

W: It’s troubling, John, it’s troubling. What price are we paying for peace? There’s darkness everywhere, and, well, look at the Iranian policy towards the U.S. This is official policy and it’s troubling. I don’t think we can just sit back and be glad about peace.

GY: Today, Venezuala’s Hugo Chavez praised Al Gore at the United Nations as a man of peace. Yesterday, Iranian President Kharrazi used the UN as a forum to announce that the U.S. and Iran were resuming diplomatic relations. What is your reaction to these events?

W: Well, Chavez is a well-known socialist, a pal of Fidel Castro, and, you know, generally not a man we can trust in the long term. Valenzualans as a whole, mind you, are good people, a decent people. I remember a pitcher for the Dodgers, a very good Valenzualan, as a matter of fact, who was very good, very hard working.

Tomorrow: Part 2 of our interview with former Governor Bush.