European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 28, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 6 b the stars and stripes election �?T92 wednesday october 28,1992for these Guys All candidates Are jokes new York a Paul Tsongas Elmer Fudd on Quaal Udes voice asks a i want All the men in the room a raise their hands no More negative Bill Clinton a voice replies a i want All the women in the room a i do a and the audience at the taping of the Joan Rivers show laughs As it listens to political impressionist Jim Morris. Running for president can be a laughing matter. In an election year said pcs political humorist Mark Russell a i get More bookings that i have to turn still few make a living by specializing on topical material. A a it a not your greased Chute to the big time a said Cable televisions comedy Central a political correspondent will Durst who pointed out that Mort Sahl Lenny Bruce Robert Klein and the smothers Brothers Are among the few who succeeded. The comedians say they fail if they re not funny. But they also see themselves serving a serious function. Richard Belzer said his Job is to take what a daunting and depressing about government a and turn it into some wit and a there must be something life affirming about what we do a he said. A a we re getting tons of information and its our Job to distil the information and like an alchemist take the Lead and turn it into Gold which would be a a i think what we do is we read the newspapers so they the audience done to have to a Durst said. A i see myself As a 13th Century Barber a i Leech them of their Morris is most surprised by How the conservative crowds at corporate events laugh the hardest at his act. A a they re my Best audiences. It never fails a he said. A maybe its because conservatives Are the Only ones in our society who can really afford to laugh at he said people who consider them selves Liberal should enjoy his material More than they do but a certain humor Tessness seems to pervade some groups or issues a homosexuals women minorities the environment. A they done to listen. Hiss and boo before they understand that the joke is at the expense of their oppressor perhaps a Morris said. A i think liberals need to lighten up a Little bit. They take everything so Russell 60, said he has voted for the same number of republicans and democrats going Back to the first time he voted for Dwight d. Eisenhower in 1952. But among the younger comedians Belzer interviewed along with Durst and comic Jimmy Tingle at comedy centrals Headquarters sounds As through he a Only half joking when he said he so to the left of Che Guevara a the late revolutionary who assisted Fidel Castro a revolt in Cuba. He in weighs against president Reagan but despises his successor More a a in a rather have an actor than the head of the a yeah but Perot investigated his children a Durst pointed out. A and Bush thanked him a Belzer said. Tingle angrily derided the idea of comics balancing their acts. A what am i supposed to do a on the Bright Side of homeless the Good thing about not having a place to live you never have to vacuum a he said. So if our leaders Are such a wealth of comedic material does that mean they re inept and the american electorate is in deep trouble pulitzer prize winning political cartoonist Mike Peters does no to think so. A i think any candidate is going to be Lampoon Able if you can see their weaknesses a he said. A luckily for us we have a lot of these weaknesses on these so no matter who wins on election Day said Peters a creatively we can to says he s the Only one to replace Bush from wire reports Winston Salem . A Democrat Bill Clinton acknowledged monday that recent polling gains by Independent candidate Ross Perot have come at his expense but he described his candidacy As the Only alternative for voters seeking to oust president Bush. Clinton also appeared to hone slightly his pledge not to raise taxes on the Middle class vowing that he would not do so to pay for the new programs he has proposed. He said he could not predict what might be necessary in an unspecified emergency. Facing weekend polls that showed the race tightening Clinton depicted Perot As a typical third party candidate in the sense that he could not Hope to win. A if they want to replace George Bush they be Only got one Choice a Clinton said in response to a question at a town meeting in Winston Salem televised on lbs this morning. A a in a the Only practical Clinton declined to say whether Perot could shake things up so much that Perot or Bush could win. A a that a for you All to say. In a just going to keep on working to try to win the election. I think we Are going to win if the voters turn out and we keep working a he told reporters. Clinton said he intended to pursue his Campaign in the same manner he has up to now. A if i win by a vote id be a Happy Man. In a going to have to work hard to win this election a he said. A i want the record out there that i tried out a real program for the american people and it was Clear and specific. I done to know what a going to Clinton a Lead Over Bush is up to 11 Points in two new tracking polls. Clinton led 44-33 in abcs poll of 1,332 Likely voters and 42-31 in the Cable news net work Usa today poll of 1,000 registered voters. In abcs poll taken Friday through sunday Perot Rose two Points to 19 percent. He was also at 19 percent in the can Usa today poll taken saturday and sunday putting him Down one Point from a Friday sat urday Sample. All the new figures were released monday. Each result has a margin of error of.3 percentage Points. The randomly selected Winston Salem voters who questioned Clinton and running mate sen. A1 Gore of Tennessee during the morning to show seemed unconcerned about Perot polls and questions of character. They asked about the democratic program and Bill Clinton left and his wife Hillary take a rest with Ai Gore and his wife Tipper on their bus monday in Durham . Sought specific answers on a variety of topics including abortion the effects of the democrats health care plan on medical jobs and Equality of Opportunity for Public and private school students. Asked by a self described a part time worker and full time Republican to provide a specific definition of the Middle class with regard to who would be taxed under his program Clinton defined Middle class As constituting the Middle 60 percent of americans. He renewed his vow Only to raise income taxes on americans making More than $200,000 a year. At the same time Clinton appeared to further define position. A i done to want to get into the same position Quot 1 into four y Inton said. A a ? emergency Don t think i should Promise something i might not be Able to keep. A the commitment i can Tell you though is that i done to want to and i wont raise taxes on Middle class americans to pay for the new spending i have , postal unions line up with democrats by Mike Causey the Washington Post Washington Federal and postal unions Are pulling out All stops to help the democratic presidential ticket in tuesdays election. Union political action committees have been pouring funds a and in some cases supplying volunteers a to the Campaign. The unions represent More than half the 2.9 million Federal employees but claim a much smaller number As dues paying members. Most Union leaders and their executive boards Are longtime democrats. They assume their members Are of the same persuasion or Are fed up with president Bush. John Sturdivant president of the largest non postal Union estimated that eight of every 10 members of the american federation of government employees Union Are democrats. About 90 percent of the congressional candidates endorsed by the unions Are democrats. In the past couple of weeks Union newspapers have run enthusiastic endorsements of the democratic ticket including pictures of Union presidents with Arkansas gov. Bill Clinton or sen. Al gored Tenn. The National association of letter carriers a which has one of the nations biggest political action committees and a sophisticated lobbying operation a is endorsing and giving Money to 34 democratic and four Republican Senate candidates. The unions Hope they can put democratic ticket Over the top by erg izing the Large number of govern workers in key states where the might be close. The raw numbers of Federal employ Are impressive. California for exan has 314,000 Federal workers to it vir8inia� 161,000 new y 152,000 Maryland 133,000 Penns ?sj�9,5kp? Florida 111,000, i Lii 7<nnn Ohio 91,000 and new Jei i Huwui
