Perot to Take Center Stage at Dallas Event : Politics: A bipartisan conference will feature congressional leaders and presidential hopefuls, but the spotlight will be on the Texas billionaire.

Ross Perot is billing the bipartisan jamboree he convenes today in Dallas as nothing less than “the political event” of the century. Others see it as the latest evidence of the defects of the political system and the failings of the two major parties.

In either case, the most immediate result of the conclave will be to put Perot, for the moment at least, front and center on the national political stage, positioned to launch another independent presidential candidacy in 1996.

More than 30 speakers are to cover a broad range of issues at the three-day gathering, which is sponsored by Perot’s United We Stand, America organization and has an anticipated audience of about 8,000. Guest speakers include top congressional leaders of both parties, as well as all the GOP presidential candidates.

But there is little danger that Perot himself will be lost in the crowd. Although he describes himself as just a “bit player” at the proceedings, he will give welcoming and closing speeches at the conclave, as well as introductions of each and every speaker.

“He will try to humanize them,” said Sharon Holman, Perot’s spokeswoman. “For example, he will tell people that [House Minority Leader] Dick Gephardt’s dad drove a milk truck.”

The top Democrat of them all, President Clinton, is sending his longtime chum and present White House counselor, Thomas (Mack) McLarty, to tout the Administration’s record in addressing the concerns of Perot and his supporters.

The President, in response to a question at his news conference Thursday, said his message to the Dallas conclave is that “the things that Ross Perot and Bill Clinton advocated in [the 1992 presidential campaign] had a lot of overlap, and we have made significant progress in implementing 80% of the things that Ross Perot campaigned for in 1992.”

He added: “A lot of the things that we haven’t done are because of obstruction in Congress, and I mention only two: the line-item veto and political reform.”

Perot claims his conference aims to uplift American politics. “We’d like to get the American people fully informed so that they are not manipulated by propaganda, sound bites and negative politics, which is what it’s pretty well deteriorated to now,” he said earlier this week on NBC’s “Today” show.

But critics contend that in reality, the conference embodies defects of the political system, which is often faulted for lack of accountability and an emphasis on events contrived to get media attention.

The conference’s attendees, for instance, were not chosen by some representative system. Moreover, the only actual debate of issues among conference participants likely will occur at “workshop” sessions Sunday--behind closed doors.

Still, the anticipated media spotlight--about 800 media credentials have been granted--fits into what most analysts view as Perot’s early strategy to boost his own role in next year’s contest for the White House, which could include a rerun of his 1992 candidacy.

Republican leaders, who fear Perot would draw voters from their nominee, hope to convince him not to run, which is one reason so many of them accepted invitations to his conference. Democrats also want to stay on Perot’s good side, fearing that he could turn a White House bid into an all-out assault on Clinton. And regardless of whether Perot runs or not, Clinton does not want to alienate his followers.

“It says a lot about our politics when so many party leaders are willing to go out and curry the favor of a nut,” said Johns Hopkins political scientist Benjamin Ginsberg.

Such derision does not bother Perot. Informed that Newsweek magazine had referred to him as “a borderline lunatic,” Perot responded: “Take off the word ‘borderline’ and they’d have it right.”

The Texas billionaire can afford to laugh off the insults. His personal fortune, combined with his boundless ambition and energy, give him the opportunity to exploit continuing voter discontent.

A recent public opinion survey by Republican and Democratic pollsters showed that despite the claimed successes of the new GOP majorities on Capitol Hill, three out of five Americans think the nation is on the wrong track and three out of four mistrust government leaders--an all-time high.

“Neither party has made their case convincingly,” said GOP pollster Fred Steeper, who conducted the survey with Democratic pollster Stanley Greenberg.

The poll’s findings indicate an opening for a third party. But many question whether Perot is the man to fill the slot.

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“He is too flawed,” said Steeper, who notes that in a Wall Street Journal-NBC News poll released last week, Perot was rated negatively by 50% of those surveyed, and received positive marks from only 21%. By comparison, former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Colin L. Powell, often mentioned as a possible independent presidential candidate, received a positive rating of 54% and a negative rating of only 8%.

But Powell is maintaining his self-imposed silence on his political ambitions, if any, until his memoirs are published in September; Perot is bidding for attention right now. As some skeptics see it, politicians would be better off staying home.

“I believe there is a good argument that you can get Perot voters without Perot,” said GOP strategist Bill Kristol. By going to Dallas, Kristol said, GOP leaders “pay a price because you legitimize Perot and at the end of the day, particularly if you are Republican, you don’t want him to run.”

But Donald Fowler, co-chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said it would be “symbolically unfortunate” for some of the leaders of his party not to participate. Even if Perot’s mind is already made up about running in 1996, Fowler said, attending the conference “eliminates one excuse for him to take out after you.”