1st Perot Ad Features Charts, Lessons, But Avoids Slogans

Independent presidential candidate Ross Perot, in his first televised, 30-minute commercial, called on the American people Tuesday night to vote for “a strong leader.” But he stopped short of asking for them to vote for him.

In Perot’s ad, which he aired nationally on CBS for a cost of about $380,000, the Texan focused on the economic problems facing the nation and placed the blame squarely on the Reagan and Bush administrations. He made no mention of Democratic challenger Bill Clinton, nor did he suggest how the problems should be solved. Solutions, he said in a voice-over after the video had ended, will be handled in subsequent commercials.

As he concluded his presentation, he called on the voters to support a presidential candidate who would solve the problems he outlined. “Pick a strong leader,” he said.

Perot’s failure to appeal for votes for himself was one of many ways in which the ad departed from the political norm. It relied on quaint aphorisms instead of punchy political slogans, charts instead of high-toned rhetorical flourishes and homespun stories instead of pertinent examples.

Using a collapsible pointer, Perot held up 28 different, multicolored charts and graphs, all of which illustrated various weaknesses in the American economy. He had charts showing--among other things--the increase in the federal deficit, government spending projections, a decline in corporate profits, rising unemployment and the falling purchasing power of the dollar.

When he arrived at his chart demonstrating how childhood poverty has increased during the Republican tenure in the White House, Perot indicated that this statistic meant more to him than all of the others. He said his sole reason for running for President was to create a nation in which the children would be well cared for. “Not a single moment of this is pleasant,” he said, referring to his underdog candidacy for the presidency.