Condit Interview Riles Dems, Media

W A S H I N G T O N, Aug. 24 -- Rep. Gary Condit may have hoped to clear the air about his involvement with missing intern Chandra Levy and his cooperation with the investigation into her disappearance, but his media blitz has only thickened the fog.

Reaction from his constituents to Thursday night's exclusive national broadcast interview with ABCNEWS was mixed. But the interview with Connie Chung did nothing to win over the media in his California district or to convince Democrats he has any political future.

The top Democrat in the House, Minority Leader Rep. Richard Gephardt of Missouri, was sharply critical today in his reaction to Condit's performance, calling it "disturbing and wrong."

"I'm disappointed," Gephardt said today. "I think the most important thing in life and certainly in politics is credibility and I think, you know, if you want to be credible, you've got to be straightforward. And I think that was damaged and I'm sorry about that."

In the eyes of one Democratic consultant, Condit's career is finished.

"There were one or two nails in his coffin before last night, and as far as I'm concerned, he took the hammer and put them in," Democratic political adviser Bob Beckel said on ABCNEWS' Good Morning America. "He's gone."

One person who did not watch the interview was President Bush, who is vacationing in Crawford, Texas. But at a news conference today, Bush said his thoughts are with Levy's parents.

"I'm not worried about the gossip, I'm worried about the facts and there's a girl missing," Bush said, making his first public comments on the matter. "Our prayers are with her parents. I have seen them on TV and I agonize for the mom and the dad and that's where my heart is."

Bush was given a quick briefing on the interview this morning by his adviser Karen Hughes and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice.

Coming Out

Condit's interview marked a dramatic shift in strategy after nearly four months of refusing to comment publicly on his relationship with Levy.