Perot Vows to Fight ‘Character Assassination’ at Debates : Politics: Independent candidate says he will try to keep forums focused on economic issues. His efforts could cause problems for Bush.

Independent presidential candidate Ross Perot, expected to be invited today to join President Bush and Democrat Bill Clinton in three nationally televised debates, has vowed to oppose “character assassination” during the forums.

Perot, in an interview with The Times on Monday, said he would accept the invitation and will try to keep the debates focused on economic issues. “If they get into character assassination, I won’t participate in that,” the Texas businessman said.

He accused the Republicans of “trying to redefine their opponents’ character” and of making “a massive effort” to redefine what has been written and said about him over the years.

Personal attacks by Bush, however, have been aimed mainly at Clinton, not Perot. And the President, signaling that he considers character Clinton’s most vulnerable spot, has left little doubt he will do what he can to exploit the issue during the debates.

In recent campaign appearances, Bush has tried to undermine his Democratic opponent’s credibility with attacks on such matters as Clinton’s experimentation with marijuana as a college student and the efforts Clinton and others made that kept him from being drafted during the Vietnam War.

But an attempt by Perot to keep the debate away from the character issue and focused on the economy could pose a major barrier for Bush’s strategy. While character questions undoubtedly will be posed during the debates, Perot said Monday they are not relevant and he “will not play the game.”

He will deal with such questions “as gracefully as possible,” he said, but will try to make the debates concentrate “on jobs, the deficit and the economy.”

With the national debt standing at $4 trillion--approximately double what it was when Bush took office--and the federal budget deficit at almost $400 billion, Perot said the nation “is on a collision course on the economy, and if it happens, it will take several decades to put the economy back on track.”

The first of the three presidential debates will be held in St. Louis next Sunday. A panel of journalists will pose questions to the candidates.

An accreditation group worked into the night Monday preparing its recommendation on inviting Perot for the 10-member Commission on Presidential Debates.

“I think you’re safe in saying Perot will be invited,” a commission source said.

The bipartisan commission is headed by former Republican Party Chairman Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr. and former Democratic Party Chairman Paul G. Kirk Jr.

Perot, who is financing his own campaign without benefit of federal funding, estimates that he has spent more than $17 million since he first began exploring the idea of running for President earlier this year.

The money has been used to advertise his views and finance efforts by millions of volunteers throughout the country.

Bush and Clinton both have said they would welcome having Perot participate in the debates. But the Republicans have been especially eager to have him take part because they hope he might change the dynamics of a race that has seen Bush lag behind Clinton for months.

Following next Sunday’s opening presidential debate, Vice President Dan Quayle, Sen. Al Gore of Tennessee, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, and presumably retired Vice Adm. James B. Stockdale, Perot’s running mate, will debate in Atlanta on Oct. 13. A single moderator will preside.

The second presidential debate will be held on Oct. 15 in Richmond, Va., where members of an audience will question the candidates. The final debate will be on Oct. 19 in East Lansing, Mich. A moderator will preside for the first 45 minutes, and reporters will pose questions during the final 45 minutes.

In the interview with The Times, Perot said he’s not worried about his poor showing in the polls or the possibility of finishing a poor third in the presidential race.

“I’m not worried about getting beat up in the process of trying to force attention on the economic issues,” he said, “it’s irrelevant. Anybody who knows me knows that it would take me about 12 hours to get over it, dust myself off and get on with my business.”

Last week, Perot’s former chief economic adviser, John P. White, who defected to the Clinton campaign, told The Times that he had advised Perot not to enter the race because he had no chance of winning and would only hurt his credibility.

Asked to comment, Perot said: “Everybody’s entitled to his opinion, and I appreciate John would be concerned. My credibility is not important here. I don’t worry about image. The point is 5 1/2 million people signed petitions and got me on the ballots of all 50 states and pressed me to (enter the race).”

Dismissing suggestions his sole role might be that of a spoiler--draining off enough votes from one candidate to help the other win--Perot said: “It was already spoiled by both parties when I stepped in. My role is to clean up after a big, wild party.”

Perot said he thought he already had had a positive impact on the presidential race by forcing Bush and Clinton to start addressing some of the economic issues.

Debate Schedule

Here are the plans for the presidential and vice presidential debates:

PRESIDENTIAL

Oct. 11 St. Louis 5 p.m. PDT Oct. 15 Richmond, Va. 6 p.m. PDT Oct. 19 E. Lansing, Mich. 4 p.m. PDT VICE PRESIDENTIAL Oct. 13 Atlanta 4 p.m. PDT

Oct. 11 A panel of questioners Oct. 15 A single moderator and audience questions Oct. 19 Single moderator for first half, panel for the second VICE PRESIDENTIAL Oct. 13 Single moderator

ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and C-SPAN are carrying the debates live. Fox network has not yet made a decision.