His strategy of high-profile debates and a blitz of television advertising now in shambles, Ross Perot is preparing to shed his campaign cocoon and emerge as a more traditional candidate.
"We can now go full bore. You're going to see a lot more of Ross Perot," his running mate Pat Choate said Tuesday after a judge rejected Perot's bid to be included in this month's presidential debates.Perot and presidential candidate John Hagelin of the Natural Law Party were granted an expedited appeal to try and resolve the issue before the first Sunday face-off between President Clinton and Republican Bob Dole.
Oral arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals were set for Thursday in Washington, but the Reform Party ticket wasn't counting on anything.
Choate said the campaign will shift gears by scheduling political rallies and press conferences - public appearances Perot has studiously avoided since he accepted his own new party's nomination on Aug. 18.
"Now, we're going to try to meet the public through the media," said Choate, an economist who hasn't been shy about making solo campaign appearances and giving interviews on television and radio.
So far in his second independent White House bid, Perot has sought isolation, campaigning primarily from a television studio in Dallas. The Texas billionaire has had just one political rally - at St. Louis, Mo., the site of what was to have been the first debate - and has appeared publicly only about once each week, usually before business groups.
"Now that we know what the plan is we'll move forward," said Perot's spokeswoman Sharon
Holman, hinting at changes to come.
Perot, who debated Clinton and then-President Bush in 1992, had pinned his 1996 hopes on the nationally televised debates and on his infomercials, using them to directly address voters on issues. But he's been stymied.
Perot says he has been refused "reasonable access" to desirable air time for his 30-minute campaign commercials - something the networks deny. Perot has pleaded his case with the Federal Communications Commission, which is reviewing his claim and expects a ruling sometime this week.
Perot's attempt to face off against Clinton and Dole before a national audience were blocked by the Commission on Presidential Debates, which voted to exclude him because he has no "realistic" chance of winning the presidency. Although Perot won 19 percent of the vote in 1992, he's been getting around 5 percent support in national polls in recent weeks.
Perot's lawsuit, combined with Hagelin's, was rejected Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Thomas F. Hogan in Washington. He said the Federal Election Commission hears - and resolves - campaign disputes of this nature.
"The court recognizes the frustration of all who consider themselves legitimate third-party candidates," Hogan said.
The FEC is not required to resolve Perot's complaint before Nov. 5. FEC spokeswoman Sharon Snyder said the agency must follow a complaint process that, realistically, cannot be completed by Election Day.