And Then-There's Perot
oss Perot's Reform Party is
also in the process of se-
lecting a presidential can-
didate. This week, balloting
is taking place by mail and via the
Internet in a process that has left
most reporters scratching their
heads in confusion.
Mr. Perot, the jug-eared bil-
lionaire who jolted the political
establishment in 1992 by gar-
nering almost 19 percent of the
vote in his third-party presiden-
tial bid, wants a rematch in 1996.
But he faces a challenge from for-
mer Colorado Gov. Dick Lamm,
an anti-big government crusad-
er who has one big advantage:
unlike Mr. Perot, he has held
elective office.
R
Ross Perot:
Challenge aids Clinton?
No Reform Party candidate is
likely to get more than a tiny
fraction of the Jewish vote, said
presidential historian Alan J.
Lichtman of American Univer-
sity.
"But it's clear that the nomi-
nee — I think it's almost certain
to be Perot — will play a signif-
icant role in the November elec-
tion," he said. "He'll get into the
debate and cause a lot of trouble."
The conventional wisdom
holds that Mr. Perot's presence
will help President Clinton. But
Mr. Lichtman isn't so sure.
"Historically, third-party chal-
lenges are not good for incum-
bents," he said. "And they are
lightning rods for discontent; I
think strategists for both parties
are very concerned about Perot's
likely candidacy."
As for Mr. Lamm, Mr. Licht-
man said, he cemented his sta-
tus as a loser with Jewish voters
by selecting former Rep. Ed
Zschau, a Republican, as his run-
ning-mate.
During his years in Congress,
Mr. Zschau was repeatedly at
odds with pro-Israel groups.
"He has a long track record,"
said a top pro-Israel lobbyist
here. "And almost all of it is bad,
from our point of view. There's
no way a Lamm-Zschau ticket is
going to win any significant Jew-
ish support."
Just in case you're sitting on
the edge of your seat, the out-
come of the Reform Party race
will be announced Saturday or
Sunday.
LET US PARK YOUR CAR, TAKE YOUR COAT, ARRANGE TO
HAVE YOUR PACKAGES GIFT-WRAPPED, GET YOU A CUP OF
COFFEE, AND THEN LET'S SIT DOWN AND TALK ABOUT IT.
OMERSET
COLLECTION
House, Senate Battles
Have Jewish Flavor, Too
he GOP convention in San
Diego is grabbing all the
headlines, but a number of
House and Senate contests
involving Jewish candidates are
heating up to the
boiling point.
In Minnesota,
Sen. Paul Well-
stone, a Democ-
rat, is fighting a
spirited chal-
lenge by the man
he beat six years
ago, lumber
magnate Rudy
Boschwitz.
Both candi-
dates are Jewish,
but they appeal
to different seg-
ments of the Rudy Boschwitz:
community.
Spirited challenger.
Well-
Mr.
sfnne, an unrepentant liberal,
has won strong support from
Jewish givers with a distinctly
T
domestic focus; Mr. Boschwitz,
a longtime pro-Israel leader on
Capitol Hill, is attracting sup-
port from pro-Israel political ac-
tion committees (PACs) and
conservative cam-
paign contributors
who tend to give
mostly on the ba-
sis of issues such
as foreign aid and
opposition to arms
sales to Arab
countries.
Mr. Wellstone,
running against
this year's political
currents, is
sharply criticizing
the recently
passed welfare re-
form bill, which
will cut federal
programs and end
the longstanding guarantee of
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