Confirmation process for presidential nominees is detailed, time-consuming.

Byline: David Jackson

WASHINGTON _ Ever smoked dope? Did you pay your nanny's Social Security taxes? How would the most embarrassing thing in your life look on the front page of the paper?

Want to work for the president?

If your answer to the last question is `Yes', be prepared to answer the first three questions _ and many more.

Presidential nominees have to answer so many questions these days, it is taking longer and longer to get them on the job, analysts said. Increased political friction between Republicans and Democrats has also slowed confirmations over the last several presidencies.

And the Bush administration is no exception.

Despite a somewhat late start because of the five-week election dispute, Bush aides say they are setting a new pace for nominations, having made 315 as of late June. But only 132 have won Senate confirmation, a 41.9 percent rate that is a record low for modern presidencies.

"Every time I see a Cabinet secretary," White House personnel director Clay Johnson said, "they look at me with this sort of long face _ `is there anything you can do to get some…