ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 24, 1996 TAG: 9603250123
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: DALLAS
SOURCE: KATIE FAIRBANK ASSOCIATED PRESS
IS PEROT A CANDIDATE for president or isn't he? Only everybody knows for sure.
Ross Perot claims ``this is not about me,'' but the Texas billionaire is doing everything but declare that he wants to be president as he cranks up his public appearance schedule to promote his Reform Party.
``This is very much a staged scenario,'' said Lewis Gould, a Perot-watcher and presidential historian with the University of Texas. ``I guess he's going through the charade of whether this third party will pick him, but the third party is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ross Perot.''
Mark McKinnon, a political observer who has been a Democratic consultant in past elections, said Perot's plan is obvious - campaign without declaring, so he doesn't make himself a political target as he did in 1992.
``I think he's doing it perfectly,'' McKinnon said. ``I think the one thing Ross Perot has learned from the last go-round is there is no advantage in going into this process early.''
As in 1992, Perot went on CNN's ``Larry King Live'' to declare his intentions. This time, the Dallas billionaire said he wanted Reform Party supporters to draft a presidential candidate, and it just might be him.
``This is not about me,'' he said, refusing to declare himself in the running despite King's repeated entreaties. He said the Reform Party will pick its candidate during a Labor Day convention.
``Then the people who stood out in the snow and created this party by getting petitions signed, they will determine who their candidates are,'' Perot said. ``They, in a very fair and open process, every one of them will have a vote. And they will determine who their candidate is.''
Until then, Perot has scheduled a blizzard of public appearances on the national airwaves and in states where petitions are being gathered to win the Reform Party a place on November ballots. So far, the party is on five state ballots, including all-important California.
Another immediate goal is raising funds. In 1992, Perot spent $60 million of his own money to win 19 percent of the national vote. This time, Perot said he hopes Reform Party supporters will pay the eventual candidate's way.
``We're going to have a massive fund-raising effort for the candidate, whoever he or she might be,'' Perot said, urging people to give $10 each.
``The nation will be shocked by how many people will leave the two existing parties to join the Reform Party,'' he predicted.
As hard as Perot tries to distance himself from his own presidential aspirations, a second White House run is clearly on his mind. Asked by King whether he would respond to negative campaigning by opponents with attacks of his own, Perot declared, ``I didn't last time, and I won't this time.''
Asked about polls that indicate he could not win against President Clinton and Sen. Bob Dole, the certain GOP nominee, Perot cried, ``Propaganda, propaganda, propaganda. See, they say it. Everybody repeats it. A million people just heard it again. That's all hot air.''
After making highly publicized appearances on CNN and C-SPAN, Perot was scheduled to be interviewed Monday on all three television networks' morning news shows, launching his 1996 Reform Party message.
This week, Perot plans to speak at schools in Texas and Florida, where activists are gathering Reform Party petition signatures, and he'll soon be a fixture on the Rotary club and luncheon circuit.
The Perot blitz began last week when he was interviewed on local television and radio programs, including one in San Antonio, Texas, that signaled he was back. Asked if he would run for president, Perot told WOAI radio, ``Let's assume the dust clears and that's what the members of this party want, then certainly I would give it everything I have.''
On ``Larry King,'' Perot said: ``My dream, of course, would be to see both parties solve our country's problems and then we wouldn't have to do anything. But if they don't, and they haven't - and it appears they won't - we will have to go forward to get it done, because we don't have long to do it.''
At the same time, Perot insisted, ``We don't in any way want this to be focused on any individual, and certainly not me.''
But a bemused King, after 60 minutes of failing to move Perot closer to an announcement, noted, ``I'll say this ... if it ain't about you, this hour was about something.''
LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: headshot of Perot KEYWORDS: POLITICS PRESIDENTby CNB