European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 12, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse Tuesday May 12, 1992 the stars and stripes a Page 13 commentary William Safir Perot proved himself a master manipulator h. Ross Perot used to make himself useful around the Nixon White House in Hopes of settling disputes his company was having with the social Security administration. When we were battling the sinister forces of Vietnam protest in 1970, the Short texan with the Crew Cut came up with an idea to dramatize the vastness of our support. He ran pro Nixon anti protester ads in various cities each containing a Coupon to help build a mailing list. The Perot plan to fill trucks with the returned Coupon mail and dump out the contents in front of cameras at the White House proving that the people were spontaneously identifying with our silent majority. As a certified mind twister i attended a meeting with chief of staff . Haldeman his aide Alexander p. Butterfield and press Secretary Ron Ziegler. My contemporaneous notes show that Haldeman asked for a report on the silent majority reaction to a Nixon speech where were the Perot letters Butterfield said Perot had reported he was carefully holding onto All the letters in each of the cities where ads had been run. A where exactly Are the letters a asked Haldeman who liked specifics. A in Banks a replied Butterfield. A you mean a said Ziegler smacking his forehead a when reporters ask me a where is the silent majority a i can say we have them locked up in Bank vaults All Over the country a a yes a deadpanned Butterfield. A a it Sall part of a one nation under god now after All these years i see the purpose of those letters they were the seeds at the Core of the up from the peo ple Perot for president Campaign. Look i have nothing personal against the Barefoot boy from easy Street. Anybody who kicked in a reported $200,000 to Nixon a �?T72 Campaign a out of conviction about the War or gratitude for favors or the Chance to show political insider Hood in boardrooms a can to be All bad. But its troubling to see Good people tired of watching politicians trying clumsily to manipulate their emotions on the wings of egos the h. Ross Perot Rescue attempt idol know. Do Weisney in trobe rescued _ _ Reg m my it n throwing themselves into the arms of a master manipulator. He strikes the pose of an Amateur in politics a surprised object of a grass roots draft movement. In fact Ross Perot is an old pro of 30 years standing in the business politics Complex and the financier of a candidacy that Waters and cultivates its own Long Green grass roots. He Sells the notion of being on the Side of the a Little yet when he went up against the entrenched and hidebound management of general motors corp. As a member of its Board instead of battling for the interests of stockholders he took a huge bundle of their Money from the Board in return for shutting up and tiptoeing away. He pretends to be ready to balance our budget while solving our social ills a a no sweat a but the Perot solution to Urban violence is to allow a handgun in every pocket opposing even a waiting period to see if the purchaser is a Felon. Public relations experts have to Admire his Little touches. The billionaire derides lobbyists a in their Alligator shoes a dissociating himself ostentatiously from the trappings of wealth. The candidate with no idea of what to do longer than a sound bite snaps at questioners for dealing in sound bites. The big touches Are skilled too having established himself in the polls by being All things to All men a the rallies of the general outrage a the putative Savior of the Republic now deflects inquiry by withdrawing into the silences for 60 Days to work out what he stands for. Such an autocratic moratorium should give even believers in the tooth fairy pause. What kind of Leader needs 60-Day wonderment to decide his Basic approach to Complex issues can a two month cram course in popular positioning prepare anyone for the presidency his first evasion has been to offer to bring a the leading authorities together on the great Battles. But authorities disagree this is not a country that can be run by knocking Heads together. Nor can we replace representative government with his a electronic town meetings a mob Cracy by instant referendum. The Perot candidacy is an amusing diversion for outrage groupies their coupons destined for Bank vaults. The rest of the electorate has a serious Choice to make. C the now York Timo James j. Kilpatric Texas Tornado must whirl up More than talk he a running. H. Ross Perot that is. He a gone too far to Back out now. The most lacklustre Campaign since Franklin d. Roosevelt licked Alf Landon is about to come to life and a Good thing too. Bill Clinton and George Bush were providing More intellectual excitement than the voters were up to. Perot May not get on the ballot in new York but it looks As if he will qualify in the other 49 states. If the election were tomorrow he would get an astounding vote. He might carry Texas with its 32 electoral votes and he might win other states also. Many republicans Are unhappy with Bush. Many democrats Are unhappy with Clinton. The people Are fed up and Here comes the Texas Tornado. Chaa arge As a Newspaperman i love it. We Ink stained wretches of the press were getting bored with Bill and George. Perot a candidacy gives us someone new to pick on. A Hundred substantive questions Are waiting to be asked. In his interview the other night with David Frost this Well heeled neophyte mentioned a few problems facing the country curbing violent crime and drug abuse rebuilding the cities getting the country Back on track stopping the deterioration of the Job base and reforming the complicated code of Federal taxation. A if the people done to want action if they done to want these problems solved if they done to want aggressive programs a he said a they done to want this is fighting talk and a weary people Are bound to love it. It is the kind of talk that ignites a crowd but soon now if Perot a candidacy is to be taken seriously there must be More than talk. We have to ask specifically mister what would you do As president what would you ask of Congress the gentleman mentioned violent crime. It presents an appalling problem. The Fri reports a 5 percent increase last year in murder rape robbery and aggravated assault. The National crime Survey conducted separately by the Bureau of Justice statistics says the increase is More like 8 percent. In Many cities Law abiding people Are prisoners in their own Homes. They dare not go abroad at night. Violent criminals hold us hostage. What exactly would president Perot do about it president Bush and Congress Are doing nothing. An omnibus crime Bill has been bottled up for months. Opponents of gun control object to putting gun buyers to the inconvenience of a weeks waiting period. Civil libertarians object to any weakening of the Rule on excluding Good evidence that police have badly acquired. More than 90 percent of violent crime is local crime the Power of the Federal government is limited. Part of the pending Bill would apply to crimes committed with guns. These would become Federal offences. Is this a Good idea to Load local crimes onto Federal courts what aggressive action against crime would the gentleman recommend what is the a a action he talks about two Dallas newspaper reporters say that in 1988 Perot talked of sealing Black neighbourhoods in South Dallas and conducting House to House searches in order to confiscate guns and drugs. That would be Radical action All right. But Are we ready to suspend the fourth amendment the amendment dates from the Magna Carta. It protects us against searches and seizures that Are conducted without probable cause. Forget it again i say its great to have this billionaire aboard. Maybe Ross Perot is exactly what the nation needs. My guess is that he underestimates the complexities of politics. My guess is that by nov. 3 the incoming tides of approval will have receded. Maybe not. Maybe he will overwhelm the sceptics by the sheer Force of his personality and $100 million in to commercials. His immediate task is to persuade the country that the 1 exas Tornado is More than just a great big wind. Usu offal a relic it Jwj
