Perot’s Re-Entry Energizes Faithful Followers in O.C.

The words were barely off Ross Perot’s lips before his Orange County supporters began whooping it up over the Texas billionaire’s decision to re-enter the race for President. There were handshakes and howls of happiness. Backs were slapped. Volunteer Roni Bates danced a jig.

Now comes the hard part. During the summer, Orange County was a hotbed of support for the presidential challenger. But with barely a month before Election Day, Perot has been running a poor third in recent county polls.

Orange County organizers of the Perot for President movement remain undeterred, insisting their candidate will once again strike a chord with voters.

“This guy can galvanize people. He can tell them in very clear language what he’s all about,” said Mike Altman, Orange County coordinator of the Perot campaign. “We’re going to deliver the state for Perot right here in Orange County.”

Competing politicos from the Bush and Clinton camps aren’t so sure. Most say it’s too early to tell what the fallout will be, but suggest Perot has alienated former supporters and potential converts alike. And, predictably, their assessment of who will benefit falls cleanly along party lines.

Democrats contend that, if anything, Perot might siphon enough votes from Bush in Orange County--a GOP stronghold where Republicans historically run well--to virtually guarantee the president will fail in California, where he already trails badly in polls.

“I think in Orange County Perot hurts Bush,” said George Urch, chief of staff for Assemblyman Tom Umberg (D-Garden Grove), the county’s only elected Democrat. “There’s a lot of hard-core Republicans who have a problems with Bush but can’t bring themselves to vote for Clinton, and they’ll probably vote for Perot.”

Republicans, meanwhile, predict Perot will hurt Clinton on the national front and slice away the fickle upper layer of support the Democrat has enjoyed in recent statewide and Orange County polls.

“These people don’t vote for Clinton as much as against something else,” said James Lee, the California Bush/Quayle campaign’s press secretary. “They may be inclined to leave Clinton for Perot. . . . It possibly makes it a legitimate horse race in California.”

Before he pulled out, Perot led in a Times poll of Orange County with 42% compared to 36% for Bush and 16% for Clinton. But a poll last weekend indicated that, in a three-way race, Perot trailed with 22%, Clinton at 35% and Bush at 33%. In a two-way race, Clinton led Bush 42% to 41%, suggesting Perot will draw voters away in Orange County about equally from the two candidates.

Altman and other Perot supporters aren’t listening to the polls or the pundits. Within an hour of Perot’s announcement, they were on the move--mailing out brochures to moribund supporters and manning the telephone banks in an effort to whip up the more than 8,700 Orange County residents on a computerized list of backers.

“Who knows what can happen?” Altman said. “The political algebra can’t be calculated on this one. We’re boldly going where no man has gone before.”

Altman said the campaign’s focus in Orange County will be to touch as many voters as possible before Election Day. Orange County generated 190,000 signatures to put Perot’s name on the ballot in California, a feat organizers say was good basic training for the upcoming battle.

The first salvo of the new campaign will be fired today, as Perot backers hold three “street-corner rallies,” handing out bumper stickers and pins to passing drivers.

“We intend to do lots of these,” Altman said. “Within a few weeks you’ll be hard pressed to go out for a burger and not see a bunch of Perotistas with signs and a bumper sticker for you.”

On Saturday, the bunch plans to hold a “car caravan.” Scores of supporters in banner-bedecked cars will start in various parts of the county and parade along the streets to the group’s Irvine campaign headquarters for “a mass rally and kickoff for Campaign ‘92,” Altman said.

Within 10 days, he promised, volunteers will be out ringing doorbells and handing out literature explaining Perot’s positions on the issues, Altman said. Each volunteer will canvass his or her own neighborhood. They will also be encouraged to hold “house rallies,” gathering neighbors to hear a speaker and watch a 19-minute videotape of Perot’s speech last spring before the Washington Press Club.

Altman also expressed hope that Perot will pay a pre-election visit to Orange County, where he was greeted by 5,000 supporters during a June rally in Irvine.

But news of Perot’s re-entry in the presidential sweepstakes was greeted with ire from several local lawmakers.

County Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder, who drew the rancor of her fellow Republicans when she recently declared her support for Clinton, said that Perot “cares more about himself than he cares about the country.”

“There are a lot of people who are frustrated because they don’t have jobs . . . and they want new leadership,” Wieder said. “But they want a leader, not some jack-in-the-box who pops up every time he gets his button pushed.”

Board of Supervisors Chairman Roger R. Stanton, a Bush supporter, said he was “a little puzzled” by Perot’s actions.

“A couple of months ago (Perot) took Harry Truman’s advice and when the heat got too hot he got out of the kitchen,” Stanton said. “Now that the heat’s down, he’s back in. I wouldn’t be surprised if things got tough again, he dropped out again. There is time for him to do that.”

At Perot’s headquarters, the mood was decidedly different. About two dozen believers were glued to a TV set as the diminutive Texan announced his decision. Afterward, everyone said they were relieved Perot made the move.

“The fact that he might come back kept me here,” said Bates, a Laguna Beach resident who has served on the Perot campaign since last spring. “I think he’s already won. I think we the people won a lot. By jumping into the arena, he has forced the parties to realize the party is over.”