By Jonathan Sweet, Herald Staff
Reform
Party candidate Ross Perot has long been a favorite target for pundits,
lampoonists and satirists.
They
have ridiculed everything from his machine-gun nasal Texas twang and his
large ears to his lack of political experience and his sometimes off-the-wall
ideas for overhauling the American economy. Some pundits and jokers have
even referred to him as "Old Jug-Ears" (and worse).
However,
it would be a terrible mistake to completely ignore or disregard Perot.
Many people made this mistake four years ago. However, the then-independent
candidate enjoyed a cult following by a group of people often labeled "Peroistas"
that netted him and his aged, creaky-looking running mate Admiral James
Stockdale an attractive 17 percent in the polls.
Four
years later Perot is back with a new party and a new running mate, fellow
Texan Pat Choate.
However,
the Presidential Commission on Debates has recommended that the Reform
party candidates, Perot and Choate, not participate in this year's debates,
saying the two have no "realistic" chance of being elected. Perot
has threatened to file a lawsuit against the commission in federal court,
citing a good three-fourths of the voters have "made it crystal clear"
they wanted him included in the debate and demanding "more objective
criteria" in selecting debate participants.
Perot,
in his first public speech on the hated recommendation, insisted he was
a "cur dog" who wouldn't give up without a fight. He also accused
the Dole and Clinton camps of attempting to "frighten" his supporters
by keeping him out of debates.
Perot
told an audience of approximately 600 people at the Commonwealth Club,
"This is a blatant display of power by the Republicans and the large
donors who fund their campaign."
The
Dole camp wanted Perot out of the debates, but the Clinton camp wanted
to keep him in. "I enjoyed having [Perot] in there in '92," Clinton
told reporters while campaigning in Michigan. "I thought he made a
valuable contribution. I'm not afraid of any debate."
Regardless
of what one might think of Perot, personally or politically, it would be
a grave error to cast Old Jug-Ears on the political ash heap and forget
all about him.
What
are my personal recommendations for Perot? Start small.
He
has some fairly good ideas for "overhauling" this country, as
he puts it, and they are at least worthy of giving our ear to. "I'm
all ears," Perot said back in 1992, and we should be when-ever Old
Jug-Ears pops up on the political stump like a big-eared Jack-in-the-box.
He
should seriously consider working his way up in the political ranks, as
many good presidents do.
First
of all, the majority of presidents have seen some form of military service.
If Perot has a military record, he can always pull it out and point to
it, just like one of his trademark charts and graphs.
Secondly,
he should familiarize himself with every aspect of politics by serving
in lower-echelon positions, rather than just coming out of nowhere and
saying, "I wanna be president" and expecting voters to take him
seriously.
Many
presidents and presidential candidates spent years climbing the political
ladder. Bob Dole started out as a prosecutor in Kansas and later served
as a senator for three decades.
Ronald
Reagan was governor of California. Thomas Jefferson, Harry Truman, Richard
Nixon and Gerald Ford were all vice presidents. The list goes on. I strongly
recommend Perot and his Peroistas stop and consider this carefully.
Thirdly,
I recommend that Perot consider joining one of the two major political
parties because few people take candidates from other parties seriously.
Because of his ideas, his following, and his flamboyant and unorthodox
approach, Old Jug Ears could be an asset to the Republican party.
And
maybe to the Democrats too.