Gephardt Lauds Clinton, but Won’t Rule Out ’96 Bid

House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.) said Friday night that President Clinton deserves to be reelected “because he has produced the best economic recovery we have had in a long, long time.”

Asked point-blank on public television’s “McNeil/Lehrer NewsHour” whether he is considering running against Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination, Gephardt said only that he is “preoccupied” with leading the Democratic minority in the House.

But without flatly ruling out his own possible candidacy, Gephardt said that he does not think that anyone will challenge Clinton, adding that the President has done “a good job” in both domestic and foreign policy.

“We have not gotten perfect programs,” he conceded. “That was indeed shown in the (November) election. But again, I think that when people step back and look at this record, it is a good record.”

During the last four months, Gephardt pointedly has kept his distance from the White House, maintaining his independence on policy issues. His behavior has made White House aides nervous about whether Gephardt, who sought the Democratic nomination in 1988, might challenge Clinton in 1996.

On other matters, Gephardt contended that the welfare reform proposal that will be offered by House Democrats will be “far superior” to what the Republicans advocate.

He said that the Democratic bill would require most people on welfare to work and that it would get many of them off welfare rolls. He contended that the Republican approach by contrast is weak on providing work for welfare recipients.

In other campaign-related developments, Newsday reported that Sen. Alfonse M. D’Amato (R-N.Y.) will endorse Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole of Kansas for the Republican presidential nomination at a joint news conference Tuesday and that D’Amato will play a “leadership role” in Dole’s campaign.

D’Amato’s support suggests that Dole, who is scheduled to formally announce his candidacy April 10, can count on friendly treatment from New York Gov. George Pataki, a D’Amato protege, in the struggle for New York’s delegation to the Republican convention.