The Associated Press
Saturday, Sept. 25, 1999; 6:14 p.m. EDT

WASHINGTON –– Republican presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain accused George W. Bush, the party's front-runner, of "sacrificing our principles" by refusing to condemn Pat Buchanan's views on Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany.

"Like Governor Bush, I want to see a united Republican Party," McCain said in a statement Saturday. "But no political campaign is worth sacrificing our principles."

In an interview Friday with The Associated Press, Bush said he does not want Buchanan to leave the Republican Party and seek the Reform Party nomination for president.

Bush did not join other Republican and conservative leaders who have attacked Buchanan over his campaign book, "A Republic, Not an Empire." The book questions the timing of the United States' entry into World War II because, Buchanan said, Germany was no threat to the United States after 1940.

"America has always stood ready to fight tyranny and oppression. The Republican Party has always stood for freedom," said McCain, R-Ariz.

"I urge all of the Republican presidential candidates to let it be known that there is no place in our party for anyone who would reject these principles. Our party must take a strong and forceful stand against the kind of language that threatens our commitment to freedom and democracy for all."

Mindy Tucker, a Bush spokeswoman, denied that the Texas governor has coddled Buchanan.

"Governor Bush has made it clear that he strongly disagrees with Pat Buchanan on this issue," she said. "He believes we were fighting on the side of freedom and justice, and Republican voters will have a chance to express their opinion in the primaries."

McCain said he was disappointed by the reaction of his fellow candidates. "By continuing to appease Buchanan, several of our candidates appear to have put politics ahead of our party's principles."

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ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – Hillary Rodham Clinton still is not an official U.S. Senate candidate, but she seemed Saturday to drop any pretense that she might not be in the race.

"I want you to know that if I was leaning any more toward it, I would fall over right in front of you," Mrs. Clinton told a crowd in Albany's Washington Park chanting, "Run, Hillary, run."

This came hours after the first lady debuted that line and gave a campaign-style speech to the Schenectady County Democratic Committee, which in April became the first such organization to endorse her possible candidacy.

"The kind of candidate I would be, the kind of senator I would be, is one who would represent the entire state and everyone who lives here," she told cheering Democrats at the Schenectady Museum.

Mrs. Clinton is looking at the Senate seat being vacated next year by Democrat Daniel Patrick Moynihan. On the Republican side, New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani is considering a run.

In New York City, about 100 Republicans held a "Go Home Hillary" rally Saturday on Fifth Avenue.

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WASHINGTON (AP) – Teamsters leader James P. Hoffa ruled himself out Saturday as a running mate for Pat Buchanan if the Reform Party should choose Buchanan as its presidential candidate.

Buchanan, a television commentator, is seeking the Republican nomination but is widely expected to quit the GOP and seek the Reform Party nod.

In a statement, Hoffa said he told Buchanan Saturday that "I am not interested at this time in playing a role in presidential politics, except as an advocate for Teamster members."

"Before the workers of America need a Teamster leader involved in presidential politics, they need a Teamsters union restored to its former strength," said Hoffa, the Teamsters president.

Hoffa's name came up a couple of weeks ago as Buchanan was reported considering possible running mates. Hoffa spokesman Chip Roth said no offer had been made at the time.