Word: perots
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Paradoxically, Perot's spectacular rise has been fueled by his image as an anti-politician, even though he has shown an intuitive mastery of political skills. While some experts -- and his rivals -- contend that a man who lacks years of hands-on government experience stands no chance of cutting through the gridlock in Washington, Perot's supporters have made his very lack of an electoral resume into a virtue. Other candidates debate proposals for coping with the deficit and various complex issues. Perot vows that he can solve problems that have baffled other politicians "without breaking a sweat," often adding...
Until recently, Perot's can-do attitude alone has been enough to satisfy the fired-up volunteers who have already collected enough signatures to place him on the ballot in at least 16 states. He has been vague, to say the least, in specifying how he would go about setting things right in Washington. Perot says he needs time to bone up on the issues with a newly assembled team of experts...
There are signs that something similar is beginning to affect Perot, whose political views remain so undefined that voters have no idea where to place him on the political spectrum. This has worked to his advantage, as voters of all stripes invest him with their hopes. So far, his supporters are willing to take the chance that a tough businessman like Perot can succeed where timorous politicians have failed. In any case, they figure, he can't do any worse. But there is a much larger segment of the electorate reluctant to take the plunge until they know far more...
...Perot's political opponents are rushing to fill in the blanks. The Bush campaign, in particular, has pushed the theme that Perot was right when he told the New York Times in 1969 that "I'm a direct, action-oriented person, and I'd be terrible in public office." Bush's people portray him as a thin- . skinned and ruthless man who tends to take his goals as holy objectives to be reached by any means available, who sees rivals as evil conspirators to be crushed, and who pursues astonishingly meanspirited vendettas against anyone who crosses him, even in petty...
Reporters have been digging into Perot's carefully tended story about his dramatic transformation from obscure computer salesman into proprietor of one of the nation's largest fortunes. Already some cracks are beginning to appear in the facade. Perot, like some of the mainstream politicians he derides, does have a credibility problem. He once remarked that "I'm not a living legend. I'm just a myth." Which sounds disarming -- except that some parts of the myth appear to be self-created. Even some admirers concede that Perot is an inveterate embroiderer of good stories. A less sympathetic...