Campaign Notebook
Friday’s campaign developments:
Presidential race
Lamar Alexander said Steve Forbes couldn’t win a mayoral race without his family’s money. “If his name was Forbes Malcolm, he wouldn’t be a serious candidate for mayor of a city in New Jersey,” Alexander said in Manchester, N.H.
Pat Buchanan chided Texas Sen. Phil Gramm for accepting campaign contributions from the gambling industry. “Give the money back, Phil. It’s tainted money,” Buchanan said in Baton Rouge, La.
Bob Dole warned against trying to shove a flat tax “down the American people’s throats” before it can be studied carefully. Dole said in Spartanburg, S.C., he wants a “fairer, flatter” tax system, but has yet to endorse a specific tax reform plan.
Steve Forbes demanded in Newton, Iowa, that Dole pull a TV ad in New Hampshire that uses “bogus arithmetic” to attack his flat-tax proposal. The ad features New Hampshire Gov. Steve Merrill talking about Forbes’ proposal.
Phil Gramm cited an editorial Forbes wrote in 1973 for Forbes magazine in which he supported a health care plan that called for nationalized insurance run by a federal health security board. “I believe when people look at the Forbes record, they are going to see there are two Steve Forbeses,” Gramm said in Des Moines, Iowa.
Dick Lugar said he plans to stay in the Republican presidential race for at least one more month but said he’s got to do well in Iowa and New Hampshire to build up steam for a longer haul.”We have to have real success there in order to gain support,” he said in an interview taped for the TV program “One on One.”
News of note:
Feeding his reputation as a loose cannon, Clinton campaign consultant Dick Morris leaked internal poll results to a Dole adviser, arguing it would be in Dole’s political interest to cut a budget deal with Clinton. Morris’ only saving grace: Clinton, who generally does not hold a grudge, believes Morris’ intentions were honorable, aides said.
George Bush’s 1992 presidential campaign got off with a simple reprimand letter for accepting illegal contributions, an infraction that normally carries thousands of dollars in fines, Federal Election Commission records show. In the Dec. 11. letter, the commission urged the Bush campaign’s lawyers to “take steps to ensure that this kind of activity does not occur in the future.”
Louisiana Gov. Mike Foster endorsed Buchanan for Louisiana’s GOP caucuses on Tuesday. “While his opponents are good people, I find that I agree with Pat Buchanan more,” Foster said in a release.
Upcoming on TV
Buchanan on CNN’s “Evans & Novak” at 2:30 p.m. PST Saturday.
Forbes on CNN’s “Inside Edition” at 4:30 p.m. PST Saturday.
Buchanan, Ross Perot on CBS’ “Face The Nation.” Sunday
Alexander, Gramm on ABC’s “This Week With David Brinkley” Sunday
Today’s stops
Alexander: Nashville, Tenn.
Buchanan: Metairie, La., Oakdale, La., Natchitoches, La.
Dole: Dubuque, Iowa; Marion, Iowa; Indianola, Iowa; Mason City, Iowa; Fort Dodge, Iowa.
Forbes: Manchester, N.H.; Durham, N.H.; Somersworth, N.H.
Gramm: Nashua, N.H.; Gilford, N.H.; New London, N.H.
Lugar: Washington.