Dole takes cheap shot at Perot
Campus Times
November 1, 1996
Because the presidential election is just around the corner, the candidates
are likely to be feeling a bit uneasy right now.
President Bill Clinton and Bob Dole may even be acting carelessly due to
nervousness, but could their behavior really justify all of these actions?
This was brought up when Dole dispatched his top aide to urge Reform Party
candidate Ross Perot to quit the presidential race and endorse the Republican
ticket.
Dole's action was explained by some people as being evidence of deep frustration.
According to John King's article, "Dole dispatches top aide to seek
endorsement," in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin's Oct. 24 issue,
this frustration within the Dole campaign was caused by Clinton being ahead
in the national polls, as well as having an advantage in state-by-state
electoral vote counts.
An NBC-Wall Street Journal poll had Clinton at 52 percent of the popular
vote, Dole at 35 percent and Perot at 6 percent.
Although this was the case, it was wrong of Dole to even suggest this from
Perot.
Not only was Perot denied the opportunity to participate in the presidential
debates and actually be given a chance to be asked questions and prove himself
capable to the public, but now he is being asked to back out of the presidential
race.
Even if Perot were to quit, what makes Dole think that he could win over
the voters who are currently backing Perot? Obviously, if those people liked
Dole, they would already have him as the first choice on the top of their
lists for presidents.
The article also quoted Florida Republican Sen. Connie Mack, who was traveling
with Dole, as saying, "Any time you can pick up a few points here or
there, it's worth the effort."
While it can be seen as being worth the effort, it was definitely not the
proper way to do it.
The decision to choose somebody as being inadequate for a position should
be up to the public, who are the ones going to be governed by that certain
somebody. It should not be up to other presidential candidates running for
the same office.
Ever since Perot dropped out of the 1992 presidential race, he has not quite
been able to regain his previous popularity, nor has he been offered the
chance to do so, but the fact that he decided to run for this year's presidency
should be enough to prove to people that he may have learned from his past
mistakes.
Every single presidential candidate should be given a fair shot at proving
themselves worthy of being the next president of the United States of America.
This is why presidential candidates should, right now, be worrying about
their own campaigns and their trust with the public by looking strong and
capable of being elected, the fair way.