Ross Perot weighed a late re-entry into the presidential race Thursday, awaiting an almost certain blessing from his supporters across the country.
The campaigns of President Bush and Democrat Bill Clinton uneasily prepared for Perot's decision, expected at a late afternoon news conference.Despite his abrupt withdrawal from the presidential race in July, Perot still held enough appeal to affect the outcome of the election, now a little more than four weeks away.
Perot ordered his volunteers to let him know by Thursday whether they want him back in, and Perot promised his feelings wouldn't be hurt if they said no.
All signs pointed toward a positive decision.
John Jay Hooker, a former Nashville publisher and politician, said he spoke with Perot Wednesday night but said the conversation didn't yield a clue about his decision.
But Hooker said, "If I saw you dressed up in a tuxedo and standing up in front of a church and there was a woman coming to meet you, I'd be pretty certain you were going to get married, right? The point is I believe that today he is going for president of the United States."
"What we feel about Ross is he's charismatic," said Bill Maher, Perot's Oregon coordinator. "He has a great mind, a wonderful personality, a great communicator. That would enhance the chance of our issues being pushed through."
Maher and other state coordinators were surveying Perot's support in all 50 states and sending their results to Perot's headquarters in Dallas Thursday.New Hampshire coordinator Herb Clark said 78 percent of the supporters he polled in his state wanted Perot back in.
"They see him as the only viable alternative," he said.
As his volunteers lined up behind their man, it was revealed that Perot hired a private investigative firm not only to provide security at his campaign head-quarters but also to investigate the backgrounds of volunteer leaders.
The New York Times and The Washington Post quoted Clayton Mulford, general counsel to the Perot campaign, as acknowledging that some of the $76,000 paid to the San Francisco firm was used to conduct investigations of allegations that campaign money was being misappropriated. But some volunteer leaders said they were accused of improper behavior in their pasts and removed from their jobs.
Perot had also set up a new toll-free hot line for the public to register its support. But the billionaire said only people who supported him should call the line, frustrating voters who want to tell him not to run.
"I'm a businessman," Perot said. "I'm not going to pay for the phone call for some fella that says, `Don't do it.' "
About 2 million people have tried to get through to the toll-free phone line, spokeswoman Sharon Hol-man said.
Maher said 90 percent of the 6,000 Oregon supporters contacted since Monday felt Perot should run against President Bush and Bill Clinton.
Since abandoning the campaign trail July 16, Perot has remained poised to re-enter at any time.
Campaign finance reports filed with the government show he continued to spend millions, maintaining a 50-state organization and quietly preparing campaign advertising. Through August, Perot's organization had spent $18 million, including $16 million of his own money.