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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: kvkkc1 who wrote (37180)	9/15/2000 1:33:00 PM
From: Tom Clarke	Respond to of 769667

Long-time Gore supporter defects to Bush camp 12.52 p.m. ET (1701 GMT) September 15, 2000 PHILADELPHIA, (Reuters) — A prominent Philadelphia Democrat and long-time supporter of Vice President Al Gore has jumped ship to the Republicans, saying he would back Texas Gov. George W. Bush for president, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported Friday. William Batoff, who says he raised more than $100,000 for Gore campaigns dating back to the 1988 U.S. Senate race, told the Inquirer he favors the Bush tax-cut plan and predicted the U.S. economy would suffer if the vice president is elected on Nov. 7. The 65-year-old businessman said he has become disillusioned with Gore, adding that he does not believe the vice president's contention that he was unaware of illegal fund-raising during a 1996 appearance at a Buddhist temple. "The Buddhist temple thing bothered me. I believe he lied. I know he's not inept. It had to be one or the other,'' Batoff was quoted as saying. The Gore campaign had no immediate comment, while the Bush campaign issued a statement calling Batoff's decision "a powerful signal that Gov. Bush's campaign is a campaign of inclusion.'' Democrats in Philadelphia said Batoff had ceased to be a meaningful factor in Democratic fund-raising years ago. He served on the Clinton-Gore campaign's national board in 1996 and the Clinton for President National Finance Committee four years earlier. But he said he declined an invitation to work for Gore's presidential campaign. The Inquirer said Batoff has jumped ship to the Republicans before, backing the 1998 reelection campaign of Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge and serving as a long-time supporter of Republican Sen. Arlen Specter. The newspaper said Batoff was offended when Gore did not invite him up on stage at a campaign event in Philadelphia last year. But his final conversion to the Bush camp came during the Republican National Convention in August, when he joined Bush, Specter and Ridge at the governor's mansion in Harrisburg. "I walk in and sit down, and lo and behold, I was met with honesty and warmth,'' Batoff said. "I'm talking to (Bush) about issues I've read, and he said to me at the end, 'Bill, I'm asking for your support.' And I said, 'You've got it'.'' foxnews.com