Magic: Bush Criticism Is ‘Trying to Get Votes’

HONOLULU — Laker star Magic Johnson, criticized by President Bush for his performance on the Presidential Commission on AIDS, responded sharply.

“He’s trying to get votes,” Johnson said after Sunday’s practice. “That’s great. He’s trying to put it off on me.

“It’s like (Gov. Bill) Clinton said: ‘He said more in those two minutes than he had said in the last five or six years.’ ”

Johnson resigned from the commission recently, criticizing Bush’s funding of its recommendations.

In Sunday’s presidential debate, Bush said, “I was a little disappointed in Magic,” adding that Johnson attended only one commission meeting.

Johnson said he attended two of the four meetings during his eight-month tenure, missing one because of Olympic training and the other because of a previous commitment.

Bush also said he had invited Johnson to contact him directly if he had complaints.

“He said that, but my invitation was through the commission,” Johnson said. “You can’t go alone. You can’t be a lone bandit. I was on the commission. I was one of the commissioners. I wasn’t even the top commissioner. All I was trying to do was call national attention to what we were doing, and I think I did that.”

Johnson says Clinton asked him to go back on the commission if he is elected, and Johnson intends to do so.

Johnson said he was shocked to find himself an issue in the debate. “When the guy asked the question, I said, ‘Oh man! Here I am in the debate! Look at me!’ ” he said.