Ohio Is Ground Zero for a Day in Presidential Contest

Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole campaigned in a crucial state Thursday with retired Gen. Colin L. Powell--keeping up an elaborate game of tease in which Dole repeatedly has hinted that Powell would have a role in his administration but has failed to specify a post.

Dole aides often have suggested that their candidate might soon announce a potential Cabinet post for Powell--secretary of state is the one most often mentioned--hoping that if Dole did make that move it would generate some excitement for the Republican ticket.

But so far nothing has come of it. Dole likes to say that Powell would be “one of the stars” of a Dole administration, but will go no further.

Powell, for his part, has not seemed all that anxious to campaign. He has given only one speech--at the Republican convention in August--and attended only one event with Dole in the general election campaign so far. Add to that a private breakfast with Dole at a Watergate Hotel restaurant in Washington last week, and the result weighs in far lighter than the desire.

“I am not an active working politician. I have a private life. What I have said I would do is support the senator out at the convention and from time to time make appearances,” Powell told reporters here. “I am not an active, on-the-road Republican. That was the choice I made, living my private life. It’s a choice that has worked out good.”

A Powell role is “still up in the air,” said one Dole aide. There has been “discussion of a role,” the aide said, but Powell has not been offered any specific job.

It was no surprise that Dole wanted to bring Powell here, for Ohio is an absolute must-win state for the Republican candidate--one in which he trails President Clinton by a margin of between 9 and 14 points, judging by recent polls.

And Clinton was conceding nothing in the state, appearing at a rally in Dayton, only 44 miles to the north, only a few hours after Dole’s rally here.

“Here, a little more than a year ago, the leaders of Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia came together through American leadership to end the worst bloodshed in Europe since World War II,” Clinton told the crowd gathered on the chilly, gray afternoon in Old Montgomery County Courthouse Square in downtown Dayton.

It was in Dayton that America showed the world that it is “an indispensable nation,” even in the post-Cold War era, “in building a new world of peace and freedom and prosperity for the 21st century,” he said.

“When the world thinks of Dayton now, it thinks of peace,” Clinton said, adding that “every person from the community should be very proud of the role you played in those accords.”

Earlier in the day, Clinton joined Vice President Al Gore for a rally in Knoxville, Tenn., where Clinton lauded Gore’s debate performance and Gore blasted the Republicans for proposing to cut federal spending on research.

“Last night, it was Al Gore who sacked the quarterback,” Clinton declared.

As Clinton announced a new $500-million initiative to spur the creation of the next-generation Internet, Gore declared that “last night Jack Kemp and I debated the future. This morning, Bill Clinton and I are building the future.”

Thursday’s trip was Clinton’s fifth campaign visit to Ohio in search of its 21 electoral votes, and he has scheduled a visit to Cleveland next week.

“This is like their Holy Grail,” Doug Sosnik, White House political affairs advisor, said, referring to the Republicans. With Clinton well ahead in Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan--and not heavily contesting traditionally Republican Indiana--Ohio is “the last competitive Great Lake state,” he said.

Dole and his running mate, Kemp, clearly agree. Both campaigned through the state, with Powell appearing only at the day’s first rally. There, it was easy to see why Republican strategists are so eager to have Powell on hand. While Dole attacked and Kemp taught economics, Powell was a living, breathing reminder of the candidate’s integrity, his faithfulness to his country, his stature as a war hero.

Dole, said Powell by way of introduction, is a man who wears a purple heart on his civilian lapel as he campaigns throughout the country “as a daily reminder to him of what fighting for this country is all about.”

America needs Bob Dole and his vision for our nation, Powell said, a vision that comes “from his many years of experience and from his deep love for this country.”

“It is a vision that comes from the very heartland of America, a vision that rests on the renewal of our traditional values, values upon which we face our future, values that will lead to the restoration of the American family to the central place in American life.”

Rosemarie Morris, an accountant and registered independent, was grinning evidence of the power of the retired general. She came to the boisterous rally in Fountain Square to see her military hero, a man she described as “larger than life,” a man who is not Dole.

“If I had to vote today, I’d vote for Bob Dole because Gen. Powell was standing next to him,” said the African American mother of three. Tomorrow, however, is another story. “I have three weeks to decide.”

For his part, Dole seemed clearly energized by having Powell at hand as he sharpened his attacks on Clinton.

“President Clinton has been talking a lot about a bridge to the future,” Dole said. “What we really need is a bridge to the truth, a bridge to the truth.”

Dole then heaped huge praise on Ohio Gov. George Voinovich for creating jobs and lowering taxes and cutting spending in this revitalized--and hotly contested--industrial state. “But who takes credit for all of it?” Dole jeered. “Bill Clinton. He does everything.”

“The president talks a lot, he talks a lot about a lot of things. Remember President Reagan was the Great Communicator? President Clinton will be the Great Exaggerator. He takes credit for everything.”

And Dole warned darkly of what would befall the country “if the worst should happen” and Clinton were reelected.

The president will be right back “trying to shove the health care bill down the throats of the American people,” Dole warned.

La Ganga reported from Cincinnati and Shogren from Dayton. Times staff writer Edwin Chen in Knoxville contributed to this story.