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THE 1992 CAMPAIGN: Political Memo; For TV, Perot Spends Heavily on Wart Removal

THE 1992 CAMPAIGN: Political Memo; For TV, Perot Spends Heavily on Wart Removal
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October 25, 1992, Section 1, Page 28Buy Reprints
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The top-of-the-line makeover at the Neiman Marcus beauty salon in Dallas does not come cheap -- $200 for the full treatment, including haircut, facial, manicure and massage.

But that is loose change compared with the nearly $1.1 million that Ross Perot has spent in the last week to make over his political image. While remaining out of sight since Monday night's final debate, Mr. Perot has focused his television advertising campaign not on the economic issues he maintains are so vital but on a careful portrayal of his character and life story.

In the second round of his blitz of half-hour television appearances, Mr. Perot has thrown away his charts and graphs. Viewers have instead seen the aw-shucks billionaire providing sentimental reminiscences of his childhood and his heroics. As in most autobiographies, there are some omissions, including the accounts of investigations and autocratic business dealings that so angered Mr. Perot in the first phase of his campaign.

"What I am and what I'm being portrayed as is two different things," Mr. Perot said on the "Today" program on NBC several weeks ago. "I'll put my character up against anybody's if anybody will ever take an honest look at it." Friendly Interviewing

Because he apparently believes nobody will do so, Mr. Perot paid the networks more than $1 million to broadcast four half-hour programs about himself in the last eight days. The first two consisted of the kind of interview candidates dream of: one conducted by his own media consultant. On Friday night, members of Mr. Perot's family provided 30 minutes worth of testimonials. In tonight's installment, on CBS before the World Series, viewers saw "The Ross Perot Nobody Knows," a compilation of Mr. Perot's once anonymous acts of charity for soldiers from the Persian Gulf war, Dallas police officers, neighbors and employees.

Mr. Perot has spent another $940,000 for an hour on ABC on Monday night, but aides have not said how it will be used. He spent a stunning total of $23.6 million on advertising in the first two weeks of October and has said he will spend $60 million of his own money on his campaign. He may well spend more.

Mr. Perot's televised autobiography, which dwells heavily on his attendance at the United States Naval Academy and his service in the Navy, omitted any mention of his efforts to cut short his military service. While he spoke at length about the familial "three musketeers" spirit he engendered at his computer company, the Electronic Data Systems Corporation, he did not discuss the company's policy against facial hair and its preference for married employees.

He did not address the heavy use of lobbying and hardball political tactics to win the government contracts that made the company a success. Nor did he mention his history of hiring private detectives to investigate business rivals, political figures and his own campaign volunteers. Wall Street Left Out

While Mr. Perot talked at length about the formation of E.D.S., he neglected to describe the end of his association with the company after it had been acquired by General Motors. Unable to influence the operation of the automobile giant to his satisfaction, Mr. Perot sold his shares for $700 million and walked away.

He also did not discuss his failed foray into Wall Street when a brokerage house he took over went bust.

If there is a recurring theme running through Mr. Perot's self-portrayals, it is the depiction of a self-effacing man who is unaffected by his vast wealth. Scattered throughout Friday night's segment were anecdotes about the 25-cent allowances given to his children and the Saturdays he spent mowing the lawn.

"To us it was a very normal American household," Mr. Perot's son, Ross Perot Jr., said.

For all of Mr. Perot's assertions that what separates him from President Bush and Gov. Bill Clinton is his willingness to deal forthrightly with the country's problems, his economic proposals have received little mention in the advertising barrage.

Thus far, Mr. Perot has used only one of his seven purchases of large segments of television time to prescribe the bitter medicine he says is needed to reduce the Federal budget deficit. His plan includes tax increases on gasoline, reductions in an array of usually sacrosanct benefit programs, and across-the-board cuts in Government spending. Usual Campaigning

Those proposals also are not mentioned in the 60-second advertisements Mr. Perot has produced. Accompanied by images of rolling storm clouds or a pulsing electrocardiogram, these commercials create a sense of urgency about problems that Washington has ignored. But they do not deal with Mr. Perot's proposed solutions, arguing only that "it's time for a candidate who will get down to business."

His aides said today that they did not know whether Mr. Perot would speak in detail about his economic policies when he finally leaves the television studio to campaign on Sunday in Flemington, N.J., and Pittsburgh. He is scheduled to speak at the Flemington Fairgrounds at 1:30 P.M. and at Pittsburgh's David Lawrence Convention Center at 4:30 P.M. Other than rallies and news conferences after the three Presidential debates, the Sunday appearances will be Mr. Perot's first public events since he re-entered the race on Oct. 1.

To some observers, the Perot advertising strategy reinforces a view that he rejoined the race largely to rehabilitate his image. In the first phase of his campaign, Mr. Perot's reputation as a crafty businessman and can-do patriot was transformed in a few months. News reports began portraying a darker force and finally, at the end, Newsweek on its cover labeled him "The Quitter."

"It confirms the view of some people that this guy is on the biggest ego trip since Geraldo Rivera opened up Al Capone's vault," said Darrell West, a Brown University political scientist who studies campaign advertising. "It's all him. When he's asked about the issues, he waves a copy of his book and says, 'Buy this.' " Controlling Message

But other political scientists said the strategy shows that the man who prides himself on his unconventional candidacy understands the conventions of politics quite well. Few successful candidates, after all, publicize positions that might cost them votes, like raising gasoline taxes by 50 cents a gallon over five years.

By controlling his message and limiting his access to the media, the experts said, Mr. Perot has eliminated the potential for gaffes like his earlier reference to a meeting of blacks as "you people." By not engaging his opponents, he has manufactured an image of seriousness and statesmanship. By not campaigning, he has insured that most news reports of him will be about his advertising, allowing him, like the Wizard of Oz, to portray himself as he wishes.

"One thing that he has done very skillfully is take those info-mercials and turned them into news," said Daniel B. Payne, a Democratic media consultant in Boston. "He's getting a very tightly controlled message out there. Bush and Clinton are out on the trail and they don't have much control over the bites on the news."

Mr. Perot has no plans to join them, although he is scheduled to appear on Thursday night in one of his friendly environments, Larry King's television studio.

Because he is financing his own campaign, Mr. Perot does not have to worry about about the $65 million Federal spending limit imposed on Mr. Bush and Mr. Clinton. And because the success of his campaign does not depend on victory, he has said he is not particularly obsessed with winning.

"He's playing for the future, making himself a force to be reckoned with by both parties," said Mr. Payne. "And he's becoming at least a very loud spectator on the sidelines in the next four years."

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section 1, Page 28 of the National edition with the headline: THE 1992 CAMPAIGN: Political Memo; For TV, Perot Spends Heavily on Wart Removal. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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