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The Challenge of Ross Perot
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20346 |
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CURRENT ISSUES
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| Issue
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6 / 1992 |
2,150 Words |
| Author
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Carolyn Barta
Carolyn Barta is a political columnist and editor of the op-ed
page for the Dallas Morning News. |
On a recent Saturday afternoon, I set out to visit some north Dallas shopping centers to check H. Ross Perot's efforts to get on the presidential ballot in Texas. Handmade signs pointed to "Perot Petitions," and a sidewalk card table where volunteer Jim Ash was signing up a steady stream of shoppers. Ash was in the process of logging some 50 free hours for Perot because, he said, "I'm fed up with what's going on in Washington."
Halfway into Ash's explanation of his anger toward Washington, who walks up but H. Ross Perot--the 14th richest man in the United States and potential independent candidate for president. No press entourage, no bodyguards, no campaign aides. Just Perot, by himself, surveying the petition-signing activities. Moments later, people lined up on the sidewalk to shake his hand. "I'm proud to see someone like you running," said a young man holding a baby. Others pledged their support.
At another nearby shopping center, volunteer Ruthie Garrett marveled at the outpouring of support for Perot: "People are going to be shocked in November." Perot may very well be a revolution about to happen. But hey, this is Dallas, Texas. Where else would you expect a strong Perot movement than in the man's hometown? But this is George Bush territory, too, and even here, people are suffering from the recession, disgusted with the double-talk and business as usual in the nation's capital.
That is why scores of volunteers are working on the draft movement in a Dallas skyscraper from where Perot oversees his $2.2 billion empire. After Perot dropped his bomb on the February 20 Larry King Live show that he would run if people got him on the ballot in 50 states, and subsequent media appearances, it took up to 100 people to answer the telephones12-14 hours a day, with calls from across the nation. Then the headquarters hooked into an electronic phone answering service. By the second week of April, 1.7 million calls had been answered. What does the common man see in Perot--a billionaire businessman who's had no experience in elective politics and who's given little chance by the pundits?
Plain Speaking
Blunt speech: Perot speaks his mind, without regard to political consequence. His plain speaking style is, for many, reminiscent of former President Harry Truman. But where is he philosophically? He's been called both a populist and right-winger. People can't figure out if he's more like a Republican or more like a Democrat,
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