It’s Still ‘Informal’--Dole Informs Letterman That He’s ‘Going to Run’

Appearing Friday night on David Letterman’s late-night talk show, Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) made another “informal” announcement of his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, but he seemed reluctant to include the comedian on his ticket.

“I have not . . . but I’m going to run,” Dole replied when asked by Letterman if he had committed himself to running for the presidency in 1996.

Letterman pressed: “This is official, you are running?”

“I’ll make my, what you call a formal announcement in early April of this year,” Dole replied. “This was an informal announcement.”

Letterman offered the senator a campaign button with Dole’s and his photos and the slogan “Dole and Dumber.”

“I might say you were not my first choice,” Dole quipped.

Dole and Letterman, each with reputations of expressing an acerbic wit on occasions, traded several quips with each other.

Asked how he gets along with House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), Dole replied: “Newt’s doing a great job. . . . He’s the only Speaker we’ve ever had named Newt. We’ve never had a President named Bob either.”

And Dole said term limits are becoming popular. Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.), who came to Congress in 1948 and is 92 years old, “told me the other day he only wanted to run one or two more times,” Dole said.

Dole also offered a list of the best ways to cut the federal budget.

Noting that when Vice President Al Gore was on the show last year he had a Top 10 list--a regular Letterman feature--Dole offered only a Top 7, saying that Republicans “are cutting everything 30%.”

Dole’s money-saving list:

7. Stop paying Clinton speech writers by the word.

6. Get Letterman to pay his speeding tickets.

5. Serve canned hams at all White House state dinners.

4. Save government ink by replacing long William Jefferson Clinton signature with 66% shorter Bob Dole signature.

3. Make Gore and Gingrich pay for those good seats at State of the Union addresses.

2. Fire the White House gardeners, let Al Gore do something to earn his keep.

1. Arkansas? Sell it.