Reuters Posted November 5 2002, 5:44 PM EST

DENVER - Former U.S. Sen. Gary Hart, whose presidential bid 15 years ago was derailed by a sex scandal, is considering another run for the White House, a published report said Tuesday.

Hart, who served in the Senate from 1974 to 1986 and has recently been on the national stage for chairing a commission that warned of security threats before the Sept. 11 attacks, was not available to comment, his office said.

Hart, 65, told The Denver Post he has begun taking seriously the urging of friends that he seek the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination.

``If you love the country and are motivated by public service as I am, it's very hard to sit on the sidelines,'' Hart told the newspaper.

Hart's bid for the 1988 Democratic nomination fell apart in 1987 after he challenged reporters, who had spotted him with a woman who was not his wife, to follow him around. They did and the ensuing scandal pushed him out of politics.

``It's very hard to come back. Political currency devalues over time,'' Colorado political analyst Eric Sondermann said.

He said Hart may be frustrated that prospective presidential candidates are not paying attention to his concern that the United States is vulnerable to attacks.

Hart has been practicing with Denver law firm Coudert Brothers and was co-chairman of the U.S. Commission on National Security/21st Century.

-- Anonymous, November 05, 2002