First lady says media scrutinize her daughters for profit
( 2001-07-31 09:40 ) (7 )

First lady Laura Bush accused the news media of overzealous, profit-driven coverage of her daughters, saying the twins should be ``totally left alone.''

``If we never saw their pictures in the paper again, we'd be a lot happier,'' Mrs. Bush said Monday on CNN's ``Inside Politics.'' ``I think it's selling magazines and newspaper articles and television at the expense of my children.''

The first lady reiterated her view that because the 19-year-old twins did not run for office, they should be shielded from news media coverage.

``Our children ought to be left totally alone, and allowed to have a private life,'' she said.

``We asked early on (for) the press to give them that opportunity, and to some extent I would say they have, but not like I wish they would,'' she said.

The daughters, Barbara and Jenna, have made headlines largely thanks to their run-ins with the law.

Jenna Bush was fined dlrs 600 earlier this month and her driver's license was suspended for 30 days on charges of underage drinking and trying to use someone else's identification documents to buy liquor.

Barbara pleaded no contest last month to underage possession of alcohol stemming from the visit to a Mexican restaurant. The state's drinking age is 21 years old.

The first lady also denied reports that she smokes cigarettes.

``That is not correct,'' she said. ``I did smoke, though. I used to.'' Asked when she gave it up, Mrs. Bush said ``a long time ago.'' She said she had recently hiked for four days in the thin air of Yosemite National Park.

``I want to be healthy,'' she said.