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Subject: On Trail, Clinton Plays 'The Price Is Right'; Democrat's Campaign Heartened by
Date: Tue, 27 Oct 92 04:30:23 EST
Message-ID: <15.1992Oct27.043023@AmeriCast.com>

On Trail, Clinton Plays 'The Price Is Right'; Democrat's Campaign
Heartened by Rivals' Sniping, but Poll Jitters Abound<By Edward
Walsh=Washington Post Staff Writer=

DURHAM, N.C., Oct. 26 - The question cut to the heart of why Ross
Perot's populist message has touched a nerve in the electorate,
while Bill Clinton's comfortable lead in the presidential race
has shrunk in the final days of the campaign.

It was posed this morning by Debbie Gilbert, a part-time hospital
worker and mother of two young boys, during a "town meeting" in
Winston-Salem that was televised live on the CBS Morning News.
"Governor," Gilbert said to Clinton, "I just have a hard time
believing that any politician today who claims that they want to
help the average American can really do that because I don't be-
lieve that politicians know what it's like to be in the shape of
the average American family. I want to know if you know how much
it costs to buy a pound of hamburger, a pair of blue jeans, a
tank of gas and visit the doctor's office."

It was all there: The cynicism about politics and its profession-
al practitioners, the resentment of an insular government in
Washington, the forlorn hopelessness of a citizen who feels aban-
doned by the distant ruling class. Although Perot is a Texas bil-
lionaire who rarely ventures into public, and Clinton is paid
$35,000 a year to govern Arkansas and would rather shake a hand
than sleep, it is Perot who sells himself as the "servant of the
people," while Clinton is trapped as what he has been all his
adult life - a politician.

The politician did not hesitate with his answer. "Well, gasoline
is about a dollar twenty," the Democratic presidential nominee
said. "It depends on what kind of gasoline you get. Hamburger
runs a little over a dollar. A gallon of milk is two dollars. A
loaf of bread is about one dollar now. . . What it costs to go to
the doctor depends on the doctor. I know doctors who (charge)
fifteen dollars."

"This is sort of like 'The Price Is Right,' " interjected CBS
Morning News anchorman Harry Smith. "How'd he do?"

"Blue jeans," Clinton continued, "run anywhere from eighteen dol-
lars to fifty dollars depending on what kind you get." "Pretty
good," Gilbert said, answering Smith's question.

Gilbert's response seemed to cheer Clinton, as did the extraordi-
nary spectacle later today of the White House and Perot headquar-
ters in Dallas hurling insults and accusations at each other.

Joined by his running mate, Sen. Albert Gore Jr. (Tenn.), and
their wives, Hillary Clinton and Tipper Gore, Clinton today began
his final push to overcome remaining doubts about putting another
politician in the White House. Their eighth and final bus tour of
the campaign snaked along narrow two lane roads amid the blazing
colors of a North Carolina autumn, stopping frequently in small
towns along the way, hammering away at Bush but keeping a wary
eye on Perot in the background.

Privately, members of the campaign entourage admitted to last-
week jitters after holding the lead for so long. "It's like the
last two minutes of a basketball game," said an aide to Gore.
"You've been ahead by 10 points and the lead is shrinking. Come
on, get the shot clock moving."

Paul Begala, a senior consultant to the Clinton campaign, blamed
part of the reemergence of the Perot phenomenon on the news
media's premature declaration that Clinton had all but won the
election.

"I can guarantee you that when voters are told their vote doesn't
matter and the election is over, that's when they're going to
prove you wrong," he said in Greensboro this morning. But in the
curious way of this election, Begala added, the more Perot
threatens Clinton's lead over Bush the less likely the Texan is
to continue his post-debate surge in the polls.

"The focus of this is still Bush," he said. "He's the one we want
to replace. If (Perot supporters) think for a minute they're go-
ing to get four more years of George Bush, they're going to stam-
pede to us."

Barnstorming across North Carolina, Clinton jabbed indirectly at
Perot and portrayed himself as the only alternative to Bush. "If
(voters) want to replace George Bush, they only have one practi-
cal alternative," he said in Winston-Salem.

News of the escalating battle between the Bush and Perot cam-
paigns was greeted by the Clinton campaign as a last-minute gift.
"We've been hearing the most unbelievable reports about the other
two campaigns," Gore said at one stop. "They've both been accus-
ing each other of the most outlandish stuff. They have been
shooting each other in the foot while we have been out here talk-
ing about what's important to America."

Greeting voters in Hillsboro, Clinton and Gore were asked about
Perot's charge that the Democratic ticket was moving the country
"toward socialism."

"I can't believe he said that," a smiling Clinton replied. "Let's
see if he says it tomorrow."

"He wouldn't say something like that," Gore added as a broad
smile crossed his face.<02:13 10-27C9999-----

Copyright 1992, The Washington Post.  This story is from the
Washington Post's Capitol Edition On-Line and is not to be ar-
chived or redistributed.

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