For both his followers and rivals the question is the same: What has H. Ross Perot wrought? In the days since President Clinton was inaugurated, Perot has by the sheer weight of his rhetoric and the unyielding support of his followers caused the following to occur:
* President Clinton shook up his administration by hiring a former message-handler, David Gergen, to take control of the White House public relations apparatus. Gergen's first act was to rendezvous secretly with Perot in Bermuda, where the two talked politics and snorkeled.
* Days later Clinton held his first prime-time press conference and conducted a brief tutorial on his deficit reduction plan complete with pie charts and pointer. These tactics came directly from Perot's successful infomercials on the deficit and debt during the 1992 presidential campaign.
* A White House group was formed to monitor Perot's continued political clout. The White House wants to assess his ability to attract Republicans and Democrats in the midterm elections in 1994 and his potential as a third-party candidate or Republican nominee in 1996. Part of that effort includes a poll conducted by Clinton's top pollster--Stan Greenberg--under the auspices of the Democratic Leadership Council, the think tank and political hothouse Clinton uses as his centrist ballast against the leftist leanings of the Democratic National Committee and the Democrats' power structure in Washington.
* Republicans have begun to openly court Perot and then, just as openly, argue about his role in the GOP. House Minority Whip Newt Gingrich has joined Perot's group, United We Stand America, while Rep. John Doolittle of California bolted the GOP to become the first member of Congress to align himself with the organization. Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole, who had once tried to court Perot, has warned other Republicans to stay away. Gingrich and others see Perot as the strongest voice for the GOP's attempts to reform Congress, cut spending, and spur economic growth. The debate reveals the GOP's true problem: no national spokesman who commands the attention or the following that Perot does.
* On the eve of a Washington meeting between Perot and conservative House Republicans to organize opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor unleashed a torrent of criticism against Perot. Kantor said Perot "has no confidence in American workers," accused him of deliberately misleading people with data that "has no basis in reality," and dismissed his opposition to the treaty as a "political position" designed to keep his name recognition high. Within minutes Perot challenged Kantor
...
