THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 8, 1996 TAG: 9609080047
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DALE EISMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: 49 lines
President Clinton, the most prominent no-show at Saturday's christening of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman, apparently stayed away in part out of concern that his reelection campaign might later be forced to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses for the event.
A White House spokeswoman said Friday that cost considerations were part of Clinton's decision Thursday night to cancel his appearance. Lawyers for the Clinton campaign worried that the Federal Election Commission might deem the christening a campaign stop and that under FEC rules the campaign would have to pay all expenses.
The president also wanted to spare Navy admirals attending the christening from charges that they were participating in politics, the spokeswoman added. White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry had cited that concern in announcing the president's change in plans.
A former chairman of the FEC, which polices presidential contests, suggested the Clinton camp had interpreted commission rules too cautiously. Unless Clinton made a direct appeal for votes, said Washington lawyer Trevor Potter, the FEC almost surely would view the christening as part of his official duties.
A Navy official, speaking Friday on condition of anonymity, estimated the christening's cost at about $1 million. Newport News Shipbuilding, which is building the ship, will bill much of that total to the Navy as part of its construction contract.
A shipyard spokesman confirmed that the event will cost ``in the hundreds of thousands of dollars'' but could not supply a precise figure. The yard pays the cost of food, small gifts given to official visitors and some other expenses, and the rest is charged to the Navy.
Potter, whose four-year stint on the FEC ended last October, said the White House's stated concern about being stuck with the bill ``was very odd. . . . What's relevant (to the FEC) is in what capacity is he speaking, president or candidate? And what does he say?''
As long as Clinton kept his remarks free of appeals for support, there should be no question that the trip was official rather than political, Potter said.
Among the other speakers at the christening was U.S. Sen. John W. Warner, a Republican also running for re-election this year. The same rules that apply to the president govern his campaign as well, but Warner said Friday that no one had suggested he might be stuck with the bill for the event.
While he reminded an interviewer that if he's re-elected he's in line to head a Senate subcommittee overseeing Navy shipbuilding programs, Warner said he intended to keep his remarks at the christening away from the campaign. by CNB