Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.news From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: Clinton rips into both foes Date: Mon, 26 Oct 92 14:37:03 EST Message-ID: \SE A \HD Clinton rips into both foes \BY J. Jennings Moss \CR THE WASHINGTON TIMES \DT SAGINAW, Mich. SAGINAW, Mich. - Bill Clinton, faced with polls showing his lead narrowing, increased the volume of his rhetoric against both President Bush and Ross Perot yesterday by accusing them of being more interested in investigating each other than in developing solutions to the nation's problems. Although the Democratic presidential nominee saved his harshest words for the Republican incumbent, his increasing references to Mr. Perot demonstrate his belief that his drop is attributable to the Texas billionaire's steady rise. Democrats fear anti-Bush voters could split their support between Mr. Clinton and Mr. Perot, allowing the president to win. "So now we've got this bizarre situation where Bush and Perot have accused each other of investigating each other's children," Mr. Clinton said at a rally in a park here. "I want to tell you something, folks: I want to investigate your children - their problems, their promise and their future." Using his opponents as foils, Mr. Clinton also is making more pointed his line about being the only candidate in the race with key policy experience. "Of all your choices for president, only one has ever balanced a government budget. Only one has never been part of the Washington political scene, lobbying for special interest breaks. . . . And only one made a real good choice for vice president," Mr. Clinton said at a rally Saturday in Grand Rapids, Mich. The mention of his choice of Sen. Al Gore was not only a cut to Vice President Dan Quayle, but also to Mr. Perot's running mate, retired Adm. James Stockdale, whose halting performance in the vice presidential debate led some to question his abilities. Mr. Clinton also seized on two published stories that question Mr. Bush's actions with Iraq and Iran. The New York Times reported yesterday that Mr. Bush had sent a lukewarm caution to Saddam Hussein before the Iraqi leader invaded Kuwait in 1990, even though Pentagon officials were pushing for a stronger warning. And the New Yorker magazine, in an article in an issue out this week, reports that Mr. Bush played a larger role in the Iran-Contra scandal than he has acknowledged. From his own message, Mr. Clinton tailored his words to match Michigan's industrial worries, saying, "This country needs a jobs creator, not a jobs destroyer." He hit Mr. Bush for supporting what the Democrat said was a $300 million tax break for Japan by allowing that country to bring multipurpose vehicles into the United States and by lowering the tariff on them. "We gave it to them while the trade deficit with Japan was going up and the jobs were going down," Mr. Clinton said, adding: "I want more trade, I want expanded trade, but if someone wants something from the United States under my administration, they're going to have to do something for the United States." While trying to take down Mr. Perot with rhetoric, he also borrowed the theme and tone of the populist known best for his folksy vernacular. "I will wake up every day in that White House with the idea that it is not my house, it's your house and I am nothing more than a temporary tenant and your chief hired hand," he said. In Sterling Heights, Mr. Clinton tried to reinforce his apparent recapture of suburban Democrats who have voted for Republicans in the last three presidential contests. On his third campaign stop in Macomb County and his 13th visit to Michigan this year, Mr. Clinton underscored the price in lost jobs that residents here have paid for their support of Mr. Bush. "If I worked at it 18 hours a day I couldn't cost you as many jobs as he did," he said. "I'm mad about it. It doesn't have to be that way and if you give me a chance I'll do something about it." The tours through Michigan yesterday by both Mr. Clinton and Mr. Bush highlight the battleground the state has become for its 18 electoral votes. This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM