Ross Perot

According to the Ross Perot interview on NBC (Aug. 1), his major claim is not so much that he has a better set of tax numbers to reduce the deficit but that he is better able to convince Congress to vote for his higher numbers. Uh-huh.

When pressed for what his amounts for specific taxes might be, he accuses his interviewer of a “sneak attack.” Surely he jests. Does he really entertain the idea that he can make claims for his superior ability to deal with Congress and the deficit without being asked for some details of his plan? I doubt it, because I give him more credit than he gives us.

Despite his oft-repeated rhetoric about “answering to” the American people, he sure seems to depend on our collective gullibility. Talk about slick.

JULES BRENNER

Los Angeles

* Bill Clinton put on a good show on Aug. 3 when he appealed to the public for support on television. Unfortunately, he was unoriginal in his style as he tried to copy Perot’s style of presentation with cards and charts. Since he is proposing that increased income taxes be retroactively applied to Jan. 1 and that 80% of the spending cuts will not be effective until 1996 (Aug. 4), we know that Clinton is no economic whiz and surely no Perot!

JACOB LO

Fontana

* As Americans we pay little more for a gallon of gasoline than for a gallon of bottled water. Now we will have to pay a huge 4.3-cent tax on top of that! Oh, the pain we must endure. The other industrialized nations of the world must really admire our strength in the face of such a sacrifice.

DAVID STEELE

Torrance