Perot Disparages Clinton as Being ‘Middle Management’

President Clinton is middle-management material at best and can’t stop conducting business the “Arkansas way,” Ross Perot says in a television interview.

Perot, in a 60-minute discussion with David Frost, criticized Clinton on health care and deficit reduction plans and what he called broken promises on the budget, including a vow to increase taxes only on the wealthy.

The former independent candidate for President accused Clinton of “still doing things the Arkansas way, like trying to give the travel business as a political payoff. See? Now that’s just straight out of Arkansas.

“Now he’s learned the hard way you can’t do that,” Perot said. “Then, bringing your cousin in and bringing the travel agency in that bailed you out when you were broke in your campaign. That’s fine in Arkansas. That’s not fine in Washington.”

Clinton responded: “We know he doesn’t like my state. He spent several million dollars bad-mouthing us last year. That doesn’t have much to do with America. We’ll just keep on working.”

The interview for “ . . . Talking with David Frost” was taped at Perot headquarters in Dallas on Tuesday and will be broadcast Friday on the Public Broadcasting Service.

Perot said it wasn’t too late for Clinton to reverse a perceived slide in his first 100 days of office.

“But what we have here is a person who does not have the background or experience for the most difficult job in the world which we, the American people, have elected him to fill,” Perot said. “If you were interviewing him for your company, and you had a medium-sized company, you wouldn’t consider giving him a job anywhere above middle management.”