ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, November 2, 1996 TAG: 9611040056
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BEXLEY, OHIO
SOURCE: From the Los Angeles Times and Knight-Ridder/Tribune
Flanked by former Presidents Ford and Bush, Bob Dole started the clock Friday on his 96-hour ``Nonstop Victory Tour'' by assailing President Clinton for alleged character lapses and campaign donation scandals.
``The president ought to be ashamed of himself,'' the Republican presidential candidate declared, as he called for campaign finance reform in a pre-emptive strike at his opponent, who planned a similar speech five hours later and 2,400 miles away. ``He looks truth right in the eye and walks beyond it.''
In Santa Barbara, Calif., Clinton issued his strongest appeal since taking office to overhaul the way campaigns are financed.
Saying that the two major parties ``are engaged in an escalating arms race,'' Clinton called on Congress to curtail the influence of special interests and outlaw the kind of big-money giving that has put the spotlight on Democratic contributions.
On Thursday, Attorney General Janet Reno had agreed to review the donations to Clinton and the Democratic Party to determine whether a full-scale investigation by a special prosecutor is warranted.
In Dole's Ohio rally, Bush and Ford called Dole a hero and a legend, lauding his honesty and legislative skills.
``I'm glad I'm alive to hear all these nice things,'' Dole said.
Bush said that it ``breaks my heart'' to see the White House currently under fire not for policy matters, ``but because of integrity and honor.''
``I hope history will say about Barbara and me that we [served] with honor,'' he said. ``I'm confident that history will say of Bob Dole after his first four years that they did it with honor. They told the truth.''
Dole pointed to a growing string of controversies involving Clinton, the Democratic National Committee and charges of improper donations from foreign interests.
Dole said of Clinton: ``He'll stand there and he'll talk about campaign finance reform and how he's struggled to get it. He struggled to get it, all right. He got a lot of it.''
Ann McBride, president of the watchdog group Common Cause, said of the past four years: ``The president did not provide real leadership on campaign finance reform. He talked about it in the campaign, he talked about it occasionally in office.''
But McBride said the recent attention by both Clinton and Dole to campaign finance reform was heartening. ``Obviously, this issue has reached the boiling point. No one could stay silent.''
In tacit acknowledgment that the latest controversy had hurt his campaign, Clinton echoed a proposal offered by Dole two weeks ago to prohibit contributions from immigrants who have not become U.S. citizens.
The Democratic National Committee has come under fire for accepting money from foreigners living legally in the United States but closely tied to an Indonesian conglomerate. Such contributions currently are legal as long as the money does not come from overseas, as are donations from U.S. subsidiaries of foreign corporations.
``The Democratic Party has raised money this way and so has the Republican Party,'' Clinton said. ``In fact, the Republican Party has raised much more money in this way than the Democrats.''
Actually, determining which party has raised the most money from foreign interests is quite difficult because many businesses owned either by foreign-based corporations or by individuals who are not citizens are not easily identifiable.
Both parties have had to return contributions that were improper.
The action advocated Friday by Clinton was initially proposed in a bipartisan bill, sponsored by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Russ Feingold, D-Wis. The bill, killed this year by Republicans in both chambers of Congress, would ban political action committees, bar corporations and labor unions from contributing to parties, set voluntary spending limits in congressional races, and provide free or discounted television time to candidates who observe the limits.
It also would eliminate ``soft money,'' unlimited contributions - frequently reaching the hundreds of millions of dollars - that go to parties and allow donors to skirt limits on what they can give individual candidates.
At a later rally in Grand Rapids, Mich., Ford's hometown, Dole proclaimed: ``We're on our way to the White House. Hang on!''
Ford urged Republicans not to stay home, citing previous close votes in the past.
``We urge you, we plead with you, to make a maximum effort on November 5'' to elect Dole, Ford said.
As Dole left the Bexley rally, Rep. John Kasich, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Budget Committee, trashed him and running mate Jack Kemp for their proposed 15 percent tax cut.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
LENGTH: Medium: 96 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. 1. President Clinton leans into a crowd ofby CNBsupporters after an address to the people of Santa Barbara, Calif.,
during a campaign rally. 2. Bob Dole gives the thumbs up sign while
former Presidents Gerald Ford (left) and George Bush (right) join
him on stage. Graphic: Chart by AP. color. KEYWORDS: POLITICS PRESIDENT