ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, August 20, 1996 TAG: 9608200049
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-2 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
A self-made billionaire with a home-grown political party, Ross Perot plans to do what he's never done before: rely on ``good, decent, hard-working'' Americans to finance his White House bid. That could mean he'll have less cash to run with than four years ago.
Perot plans to take $29.2 million in federal money that he qualified for ``to make sure the American people are involved,'' which means he can use only $50,000 of his own. As a result, he asked his supporters Monday to help him raise millions more to put him on par with Bob Dole and President Clinton, who each get $62 million from the government.
``Millions of good, decent, hard-working people will make this happen,'' Perot said on ABC's ``Good Morning America.''
Perot envisions average Americans and small-business owners making small-dollar contributions. But campaign experts say raising that kind of cash from mom and pop contributors in just 11 weeks will be tough for the Texan, who spent more than $60 million of his own money in 1992.
``Raising $30 million is a very difficult task to accomplish, given the limited time frame available,'' said Anthony Corrado, associate professor of government at Colby College in Maine.
Perot campaign organizers say that if the American people want a third-party alternative, they're going to have to pay for it.
``If they want change, they are going to have to step up to the plate with small donations - $10, $25,'' said Bob Tonelli, a campaign organizer from Nevada.
LENGTH: Short : 40 lines KEYWORDS: POLITICS PRESIDENTby CNB