Wilson Heads Out on Campaign Trail : Presidency: Governor sounds first themes of race, comparing himself to rivals, GOP Sens. Dole and Gramm.

In his first step onto the presidential campaign trail Saturday, Gov. Pete Wilson stacked himself up against the two leading GOP rivals, saying they have not experienced the “far more demanding” job of making executive decisions he has faced in California.

While Sens. Phil Gramm of Texas and Bob Dole of Kansas have served as legislators in Washington, Wilson said that as a governor he has handled real-life problems on a more personal level.

“I have had the responsibility for management and I can tell you--having been a senator and a governor, having been a mayor and a legislator before that--they are different roles,” Wilson told an audience of newspaper publishers and executives Saturday.

Wilson counted himself a longtime friend of Gramm and Dole, whom he praised as a valuable Republican leader. “People who have come to ask me to be a late entry (in the presidential race) obviously have had the opportunity to look at some other very good men,” he said.

But he clearly laid out a theme that he and his strategists hope will distinguish him from his two leading rivals. “I give credibility to the concerns because I have done the job,” he said.

Wilson almost ignored one other leading Republican candidate, former Tennessee Gov. Lamar Alexander, even though Alexander was present as Wilson spoke. Republican strategists view Alexander and Wilson as competitors for the role of the Washington “outsider” in the campaign; Alexander has aggressively and publicly criticized Wilson in the last several days.

On its first swing East since setting up a presidential exploratory committee last week, Wilson’s campaign team showed some early signs of strain. Aides have had trouble keeping up with demands for information about his schedule and have tried to downplay the significance of his trip, insisting he is not yet really a candidate.

But Wilson made it clear that there is little chance he will not enter the race. Asked at the luncheon speech in a Washington suburb whether something might prevent him from officially entering the race, Wilson said, “I can’t think of any.”

Wilson’s team is trying to rapidly put together a national campaign organization and is playing catch-up with many of the other Republican candidates who have been preparing for several months.

The governor’s aides are convinced that Wilson has a strong message with national appeal, especially on some of the major issues California has debated recently--illegal immigration, tougher criminal sentencing laws, affirmative action and tax cuts.

But outside of California, Wilson is largely unknown.

On Tuesday, he is scheduled to make his first trip to New Hampshire, where the nation’s first presidential primary will be held in barely 10 months. Wilson is planning a brief appearance with New Hampshire Republican Gov. Steve Merrill, who has made friendly comments about a Wilson presidential campaign.

Meanwhile, in Iowa, host of the nation’s first presidential caucus, Republican Iowa Gov. Terry E. Branstad said Saturday that Wilson faces a daunting task in gearing up his campaign in a state where personal appearances, not television, are crucial.

Branstad, who said he has not endorsed any candidate yet, said Dole has deep roots in the state and Gramm has been appealing to Iowa delegates since the 1992 Republican National Convention. “It is a very big challenge for (Wilson) because of the nature of the state,” said Branstad, who attended the luncheon where Wilson spoke Saturday.

Branstad added, however, that the issues Wilson has emphasized are popular in Iowa. “If Wilson moved to Iowa for a long period of time, he’d probably do pretty well,” he said.

Massachusetts Gov. William F. Weld, a Republican who considered waging his own presidential campaign, also talked cautiously about a Wilson campaign Saturday. Weld, who is scheduled to attend a fund-raiser for Wilson on Tuesday night in Boston, said only, “I think it’s good for the field to have Pete in there.”

As he has before, Wilson outlined the probable theme for his presidential campaign Saturday, holding up his record in California as an example of fiscal responsibility and courageous legislation on difficult issues. Wilson blamed the problems California has faced recently on natural disasters, a global recession and President Clinton.

“A good deal of the suffering that they have experienced has been at least aggravated by the failure of the current Administration,” Wilson said.

In contrast, Wilson portrayed his Administration in Sacramento as one that has made the tough decisions needed to improve the economy. He did not mention the $7.5-billion tax increase he supported, which is expected to be a controversial issue in his campaign. Instead, he said California has cut the state budget, toughened criminal sentencing laws, reduced services to illegal immigrants, rolled back welfare costs and launched a debate on affirmative action.

“The way you get deficit reduction is by spending cuts and the way you get spending cuts is by having the courage to do it,” Wilson said. “My budget now, in the current year, is $1.6 billion less than it was in my first year in office. . . . Those are not only the deepest cuts in the history of California, but they are far deeper than anything I have ever seen Washington do.”

While Wilson boasted of his cuts in California, however, he also said that at the federal level Social Security payments should not be reduced. And he said he has concerns about defense reductions, suggesting that the U.S. military may have cut back too far on its presence in Southeast Asia.

* RIGHT RESURGENCE: Conservatives take aim at Wilson and other GOP moderates at state convention. A27