Clinton Signals Attack on Perot for Views on Adulterers, Gays

NEW YORK — Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton signaled Tuesday that he intends to attack what he called an apparent “lack of tolerance” on the part of Ross Perot, the Texas billionaire who says he would not appoint adulterers or gays to top government jobs if he were President.

“I think the American people don’t want a permissive President or a permissive society. But they do want a tolerant President and a tolerant country,” Clinton said on NBC-TV’s “Today” show.

Fielding questions from viewers and host Bryant Gumbel during an hourlong appearance, Clinton also said he is considering some women as possible running mates.

He said he “would also consider any number of women for the Cabinet or important positions in the White House,” adding: “I don’t think we can afford to read people out of government because of their gender or their race or their ethnic origin.

“There ought to be a presumption that people should be able to serve their country in the absence of some evidence to the contrary, whether in the military or in government service or in any other way.”

The candidate’s nationwide television appearance was his third since clinching the Democratic presidential nomination. Last week, after winning six primaries, Clinton was on the Arsenio Hall and Larry King programs.

Perot, who apparently is readying an independent bid for the White House, is scheduled to appear on the “Today” show Thursday morning. Gumbel said President Bush has turned down NBC’s invitation.

On the show Tuesday, Clinton said Perot’s view that gays and adulterers have no place in his Cabinet “is one of the things that we’ll deal with as we go along through this campaign.”

Clinton also called on Perot to get specific about his platform when he appears on the show.

“I’d like to ask him how he’s going to do the things he’s talking about,” Clinton said. “I agree with many of the criticisms he’s made of our government, but there’s a difference in criticizing it and doing something about it.”

Clinton also made another pitch for his emerging “100-day legislative agenda,” which he intends to present to Congress later this month, incorporating many of the elements of his campaign platform.

“My case to the American people is: Look at the real records. Look at who can best change this country,” Clinton said. “A change-oriented Democrat who will challenge Congress, but work with it, has the best chance to actually deliver real changes in the lives of the American people.”

Clinton aides first described the agenda as a cooperative venture with Congress, then as a challenge to Congress--reflecting an ongoing split in the campaign.

The Arkansas governor also vowed to refrain from using campaign advertising that is “untrue or unfair or is just a pure personal attack on my opponents.” But he said it would be a mistake not to respond if he is subjected to negative advertising.

On other matters, Clinton said he would:

* Reduce federal employment and expenditures across the board.

* Propose tax code changes to abolish the tax deduction for children and replace it with a tax credit--in effect, providing a greater benefit to families. “We are one of the very few countries in the world that doesn’t have a children’s allowance for middle-class and lower-income working families,” he said.

* Introduce national health care legislation, imposing tough cost controls and bringing down the cost of Medicare and Medicaid.

* Review foreign aid “line by line,” saying: “I don’t know that we should give $600 million a year to the Philippines if they don’t want our bases there anymore.”

* Seek to provide housing for the poor and the homeless, in part, by putting the unemployed to work rehabilitating public housing units.

After the “Today” show, Democratic Party Chairman Ronald H. Brown flew with Clinton to Little Rock, Ark. The two said they were meeting to discuss everything from convention details to the selection of a running mate.