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Politics : Clinton's Scandals: Is this corruption the worst ever? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Catfish who wrote (7254)	9/28/1998 5:42:00 PM
From: Les H	Respond to of 13994

Dirty tricks? Strong language was not the only weapon wielded against Perot. On occasion the White House resorted to campaign-style tactics like trying to sabotage Perot's "Tonight Show" appearance. Pat Choate claims the administration sent people to UWS rallies to "take notes" and "heckle" Perot. He also accuses the administration of manipulating the press: "Journalists are getting anti-Perot stuff in the mail," he says. "Most of it has no return address." (Several reporters who cover Perot say they have no knowledge of this, and the White House denies both charges.) None of these activities would constitute particularly dirty politics. But Choate tells one story that is more extreme. Last April 22, Perot appeared before the Senate Banking Committee to testify on NAFTA. The White House didn't like him testifying, and it liked even less the idea of C-Span televising his appearance. So, Choate claims, a White House aide called Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, who called Brian Lamb, the chairman of C-Span. Some sort of deal was struck, and Perot's testimony never graced the airwaves. A true story? It's virtually impossible to prove, and the accused parties vehemently deny it. (In fact, a C-Span official claims that it has been Perot who has exerted pressure on the network in an effort to get airtime.) If Choate's accusation is false, which it seems to be, it becomes in a way more interesting. The Perot side's faith in a shadowy rumor suggests that the White House was getting under Perot's skin. The administration hadn't forgotten Perot's campaign laments that Republicans tried to disrupt his daughter's wedding and that a guard dog chased assassins from his Dallas compound. What better than if Perot's camp started making new charges that sounded equally paranoid?