European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 14, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Bush squeezed outside the Middle of this Campaign Clarence Page is on vacation. Lars Erik Nelson substitutes for him today by Lars Erik Nelson the new York daily news for four years now it has been a surprisingly successful illusion a prep school educated band of multimillionaire Bankers and oilmen in the White House has managed to pose As mainstream pork Rind chomping Middle class America. The Bush administration seized upon mainstream issues a love of family love of country disgust with crime resentment at bureaucracy a and slipped in its own Agenda tax cuts for the wealthy subsidies for corporations free Trade deals to hold wages Down. Let the democrats have everybody else disgruntled intellectuals uppity minorities loudmouthed homosexuals greedy Union Bosses lefties whiners and the shiftless. The Republican party was a big and Happy elephant a Broad All american coalition that Ronald Reagan assembled in two elections a plus the sup ply siders the defence contractors and the  lobbyists. Ross Perot just shot the big elephant dead. Tie hired t d Rollins Mastermind of the p>s4  Campaign and architect of that Broad coalition. People even former democrats who Felt they had no political Home outside the Republican party now Hae another option they can still Call themselves conservative pro family mainstream a and vote for Perot. A the Rollins hiring is very significant Quot save Burt Pines chairman of the National Center for Public police research and a leading conservative strategist. A it attacks the heart of Bush a base the conservatives and the party regulars. Rollins is both a party regular and a conservative a and Rollins now makes it respectable for those people to go for  Rollins chief ability is an instinct for the concerns of Middle class working americans particularly Young working people. A the majority of voters in 1992 Are going to be under 45,&Quot he said last february. A the problem is that younger voters done to think George Bush connects with what their life is All  take away chunks of the Middle class and Young working people and what is Bush left with As a political base he can count to some extent on the affluent conservatives who believe in Supply Side tax cuts although some regard him As a traitor and on the right to life movement. But even there Bush has a problem. Some right to life fund raisers report that major donors Are backing Perot even though he is pro Choice. A abortion just Isnit enough of an Issue for them a one fund Raiser said. Quot i Tell them a How can you support Perot he a pro abortion and pro gun  and they done to want to hear about  smart Money in the tight to pfc movement also believes it does t need Bush on abortion in More. With the appointment of. A Lurenee Thomas to the supreme court some i ight to hers Are confident that the Roe is. Wade decision which guarantees a woman s right to abortion in most cases will be Oer turned this summer. That would thrust abortion legislation Back to the states. Bush is no longer a needed ally. A1 from president of the democratic 1  Council and an ally of Arkansas gov. Bill Clinton sees two conditions needed to oust Bush Quot the Public must have an overwhelming sense that the country is headed in the wrong a Section and it must also be convinced that the incumbent president can t do anything to turn it  polls already show Strong majorities pessimistic about the country a direction. Rollins defection shows that even a self described partisan Republican can agree that Bush is incapable of turning things around. From cites a third condition for this election. Quot the Public also believes that going Back to the old democratic ways won t work either. That message could be either Clinton a or Perot s. Clinton As a Democrat has to show that he is not going to be captured by the old democratic special  what shapes up then is a classic Battle for the Center a Clinton moving right Perot reaching out and Bush going. Where Bush has undeniable strengths As a candidate but in a Battle to capture the Center of the american electorate he is suddenly at a disadvantage. Both his opponents connect w Ith that audience better than he does. Easy to give up after trying to pin Down Perot Andy Rooney i could write everything i know about Ross Perot on the Point of a pin not the head the Point. The head of a pin would give me More room than i need for what i know about him. He a Rich i know that. Let me see. What else nothing comes to mind. Wait a minute. He a Short i know that. That a about it. If Perot is elected president of the United slates it could change the attitude of future candidates about becoming Well known to voters. It has been traditional for candidates to do everything they can to let the american Public know All about them. That wont happen in the future if Perot is elected. He has established a new style the less voters know the better for the candidate. Look what has happened to George Bush and Bill Clinton since we got to know them better. George Bush did no to make a lot of enemies As vice president. He seemed like a Nice enough fellow. Did no to do much. Certainly did no to do anything we knew about. But for the past four years the More people got to know about him the less they liked him. Bill Clinton seemed like a Nice Young fellow too. And look what happened to Bill. We Hadnot heard his name 10 minutes when this Toots comes along saying they spent a lot of time together. That was of. It was where she said they spent their time that turned off some voters. Howell w up Perot kid m running Foupht Toft Ruu i  St a Mao to jct it in the future instead of trying to become Well known candidates May hide.  keep everything about themselves secret on the theory that what we done to know about them can to Hurt them. A news conference for a candidate would go like this reporter sir could you please Tell us about your marital status do you have a family. Children a dog perhaps candidate what business is that of yours do i go around asking about your personal life next question. Reporter will you raise taxes if elected candidate that a a dumb question. Why should i answer that and get myself in a lot of trouble there a no question about it the less we know about someone running for office the better Chance he or she has of being elected. Everyone looks Good until we get to know where they stand on taxes abortion health care capital punishment and what to eat for breakfast. I set out to find More about Perot before i wrote this. I was willing to go to any lengths so i walked to the other room where we keep the reference Hooks and Looker him up in who Sho in America Perot has one of the shortest biographies in the Book. He obviously did no to know he d be running for president when they sent him the  because it looks As though he never filler it out and mailed it Back the Way you re supposed to the who s who information is skimpy bom 1930, married Quot it starts Oft. Most men give u jobs who the Maiden name of their wife but not Ross. He gave them nothing. Do you know his Wiles  name our potential first lady frustrated i continued my search. I went to the new York Telephone Book. There was just one Perot listed. She a Czerina Perot. I caller the number to see if Czerina was pleased about having someone with her name running for president. A pleasant woman answerer the phone and i made a fool of myself asking How she Felt about it until she interrupter me to say Czerina Perot had t liver there for a year Ami she did t know where shed gone. So much for hard hitting , until c opt a current at fan Type reporting from me on Ross Perot. T t a o no Quot \ ,