Economic Summit

Who knows why things happen? Who knows if Ross Perot came into the race consciously to help Clinton?

The effect was that Perot swung the weight of public consciousness toward the “change” end of the spectrum, giving Clinton instant credibility and leaving Bush in the dust of the status quo. He put the economy on the front burner. He wasn’t invited to the Little Rock conference (we knew his ideas already) but he clearly was its herald. He lectured and cajoled the public into the beginnings of a sense of economic responsibility, albeit through a Draconian lens. He paved the way for Clinton’s professorial presidential style by giving America a gigantic tutorial. He engendered enthusiasm for investing not just money but intelligence.

I didn’t care for Perot and still don’t. He was too much of a loose cannon and near the election he was scaring me and a lot of others that he might blow it for Clinton and allow Bush to slip through. But in retrospect I can see that Perot was Clinton’s political John the Baptist. Whether he knew what he was doing or not, he helped the best man win. His catalytic effect helped put Clinton in the White House, even as he put Clinton’s feet to the fire. He may have even made for a more successful Clinton presidency by toughening him up, preparing us for what Clinton may have to do, and by getting our attention to help him do it.

JANE WARDLOW PRETTYMAN

Los Angeles