ELECTIONS ’92 : Clinton Sees Advantage in 2 Rivals’ ‘Obsession’

As his rivals continue to hurl verbal firebombs at each other, Bill Clinton said Thursday that President Bush’s and Ross Perot’s “obsession with one another” works to his advantage as voters realize he’s the only candidate talking about issues.

“I think the American people can see that here are two people that really, intensely dislike each other,” a delighted and smiling Clinton said as he left his hotel here. “It’s obvious that they’ve got an almost obsession with one another.

“That’s fine with me,” the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee added. “They can fight with each other from now till November as far as I’m concerned.”

Clinton arrived in Boston Wednesday night to participate in a close-circuit “house party,” during which campaign officials said they raised an estimated $1 million from viewers who paid varying amounts to watch the broadcast in about 100 cities nationwide.

While in town, Clinton picked up an endorsement from Boston Mayor Raymond L. Flynn, a Democrat and former president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Flynn noted that Clinton’s revised economic plan calls for an annual $50-billion investment to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure and to provide jobs.

“As far as cities are concerned, that was the first day of the presidential campaign,” Flynn said in a statement. “And that is why I endorse Bill Clinton for President and commit that I will do everything in my power to help get him elected.”

Clinton was less successful in convincing a rival, former Massachusetts Sen. Paul E. Tsongas, to jump on his bandwagon. The pair met for an hour in Clinton’s hotel suite, but the result was inconclusive, one campaign aide said.

If Clinton seemed coldly sanguine about the travails of Bush and Perot, it is because their bickering offers his campaign a timely respite from its own troubles.

For much of the primary season, Clinton was on the receiving end of personal attacks on his character. Now, his campaign is swimming in nearly $4 million of red ink, his workers have missed paychecks, and he is embedded in third place on most popularity polls behind the President and the independent Texas billionaire. Nevertheless, when the press has turned its attention to him lately, it has been to discuss his economic proposals in a largely favorable light.