Bill Clinton says he loves Elvis, and everyone knows that ”Suspicious Minds” was the King`s greatest hit. Next to ”Blue Christmas,” of course.
As summer wanes, voters` minds get increasingly suspicious of the characters running for president. And this year some are suspicious of one who says he`s no longer after President Bush`s job.
Suspicion No. 1: Ross Perot is not through with us.
It`s not easy to surmise what the moody Texas billionaire is up to these days, but it`s fair to say he`s got his own best interests at heart.
Ol` Ross left the race he never quite entered by telling his troops that a ”revitalized” Democratic Party made it impossible for him to win in a three-way chase.
So, for the good of the country and to keep the election out of the House of Representatives, blah, blah, blah.
He extolled his followers to keep up the petition drives to get him on the ballots in the 25 or so states where he hadn`t already qualified.
Then, after a spate of teary meetings with his various volunteers, Perot sent forth one his advisers to explain his stern, newly minted economic plan. The plan, as laid out by former Carter budget adviser John White on a host of TV news shows, calls for higher taxes, curbing of entitlement benefits, stiff cuts in defense and more than a little pain for everybody.
Quite naturally, Perot`s plan delighted those Americans best equipped to cope with its strictures-upper-middle-class opinionmakers.
Watching as this fiscal message hatched was a fascinating exercise, if a trifle perverse. For months, the Dallas industrialist and mythmaker didn`t seem to have an idea in his head beyond ”God Bless America.” And the bulk of his supporters did not appear to be disturbed by that vacancy.
Then, after kicking the pins out from under his volunteers, Perot emerged with a proposal that put him back in the good graces of the pundits and the chalk-covered economists.
For all the gold stars and glowing reviews in the public prints, however, the bottom line on Perot`s plan is easy to read: No politician in this country is ever going near the winner`s circle carrying the Texan`s economic baggage, and every politician knows it. Including Perot.
Still, for his troubles, Perot got what he likes best; admiration without scrutiny or accountability.
Obviously, Perot never intended to run on his economic platform. If he had, he would have offered it to the press and ”The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour” while he was still acting like a candidate.
Ross just wanted to be taken seriously again, and to get another dose of the limelight.
Which gets us back to the suspicions.
Suspicion No. 2: Perot could be plotting a strategy that might allow him to steal the election this fall.
He didn`t want to campaign for the office, and he didn`t want to pony up that $100 million in campaign spending that he was tossing around last March. He didn`t want to talk to the press, he didn`t want folks poking around in his past, and he didn`t want any advice from professional pols.
Perot never said he didn`t want to be president.
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He did get a look at the dark side of national campaigning and was stunned to learn that Bush`s minions-and a few Democrats-would gleefully take the hide of an opponent, even if he were a billionaire.
Perot heard himself tagged as ”scary” and ”a paranoid,” as a secretive tycoon who couldn`t be trusted with the Constitution or the FBI.
Based on personal experience, Perot understands that we are about to embark on a savage election campaign.
We have an incumbent president who is going to have to demonize his Democratic opponent to deflect attention from his own record. And we have a Democratic ticket that insists it will return fire, no matter how personal the attacks.
By October millions of Americans are likely to averting their eyes from whole process.
Could it be that there, in the wings or in the weeds, they`ll find Ross Perot, tanned, rested and ready. And on the ballot in nearly 50 states?
Preposterous? Maybe. But what other motivation does Perot have for his conduct since dropping out of the race?
Think of it as a leveraged buyout of the political process. Perot avoids the fray and re-emerges-his economic plan now a historical curiosity-as the man on horseback.
Millions of Americans are unhappy with George Bush, and soon they will be reminded of what they didn`t like about Bill Clinton back in January and February.
The $100 million question, of course, is, who would believe Ross Perot after his conduct in recent weeks?
The answer: Maybe millions of people. Maybe enough people to turn the election.