FEINSTEIN WON'T PURSUE APOLOGY FOR ALLEGED SLUR.

Byline: Judy Holland Hearst Newspapers

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., won't ask for an apology from Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., for allegedly referring to her as ``a bitch'' during a heated hearing, her spokesman said Thursday.

Santorum denies making the remark.

Democrats charged last week that Santorum used the sexist slur to refer to Feinstein last April 17 after the two had an animated discussion over the scope of a Senate Rules Committee investigation into whether Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., legitimately won her seat in last November's election.

Santorum allegedly made the remark in an aside to Majority Whip Don Nickles, R-Okla. However, the conversation between the two wasn't audible on videotapes of the hearing broadcast on the Senate's TV system and later on C-SPAN.

``She has decided to drop the matter,'' Feinstein's spokesman Jim Hock said, adding that the senator decided to take Santorum's word that he didn't utter the slur. Santorum said he called her Monday to deny using the word and to apologize for the ``hubbub.''

Santorum accused aides of Sen. Wendell Ford, D-Ky., ranking Democrat on the Rules Committee, of fabricating the incident and of leaking it to the press. A day after the meeting, congressional aides in the offices of Democratic senators were exchanging the videotape, playing it over and over in an effort to read Santorum's lips.

``What they did was malicious and disturbing,'' Santorum said. ``It's unfortunate that they've devolved to that level of pettiness and maliciousness.'' Santorum also said he blames Ford for the flap, saying Ford ``personifies the worst attributes'' of desperate Democrats. ``He was behind this,'' Santorum said.

Ford defended his staffers in an interview Thursday afternoon. ``(Santorum) is an absolute liar,'' Ford said. ``Why should they leak it to the press (if) they have no reason to?''

Santorum said he was frustrated at the hearing by arguments from Democrats who were trying to avoid losing Landrieu's seat to Republican Woody Jenkins, who has charged that voter fraud cost him the election.

Feinstein implied earlier during the hearing that Republican attacks on Landrieu, who beat Jenkins by 5,788 votes, were rooted in sexism.

``Hell hath no fury like a man beaten by a woman,'' Feinstein said.

Santorum said he was exasperated and turned to Nickles and Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott several times during the hearing and said, ``I can't believe this,'' and ``Can you believe this?''

Santorum said aides to Ford heard him say a word that began with B - as in ``believe'' - and assumed the worst.

He said he has given talks to urban youths specifically referring to the word ``bitch'' as pejorative and highly offensive.