Buchanan Still Considers Dole His Rival

Aired March 20, 1996 4:20 pm

BERNARD SHAW, Anchor: Candidate Patrick Buchanan joins us now live from San Ysidro, California, along the U.S.-Mexican border.

Mr. Buchanan, the U.S. Taxpayers Party is trying to get on the ballot in all 50 states. Are you seriously considering joining that party or leading that party in a third-party effort?

PATRICK BUCHANAN (R), Presidential Candidate: The answer is, Bernie, that I was offered that nomination if I would join that party a long time ago, and I decided the way to go was in the Republican Party and bring back the Perot voters and the lost Democrats, Reagan Democrats, back to the GOP, and I'm still going in that direction.

SHAW: Have you talked to Ross Perot?

BUCHANAN: I've not talked to Ross Perot in almost a year.

SHAW: What will have to happen to persuade you to support Bob Dole's candidacy?

BUCHANAN: What we need to do, Bernie, is I think I represent the economic nationalists in the Republican Party, the America First foreign-policy group there, and also the Democrats who voted for me in greater numbers than Senator Dole, and the Perot voters. I think we've got to bring these two movements together if we are going to have the united Republican Party that can win. Well, how we go about it, I don't know, but we've got to do it at the convention. Before then, we're going through California, and we're going to continue on into Pennsylvania and Alabama, Indiana and North Carolina.

SHAW: If you get no satisfaction in San Diego, at your party's convention, what will you do?

BUCHANAN: I can't believe that will happen, Bernie. I really think Senator Dole is moving in our direction on a lot of issues. He's talking about corporate greed, he's talking about illegal immigration, he's talking about the export of American jobs. I think he's taking a second look at these trade treaties. I think we're going to win the battle for the heart and soul and the future of the Republican Party even if we may lose the nomination in the present.

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SHAW: If you do not get a prime-time speaking slot in San Diego at the convention will you feel slighted, and will that affect your behavior?

BUCHANAN: Bernie, this isn't about personality or bruised egos. Clearly, coming into the convention with three to four million votes, I think I deserve and obviously will be given a prime-time speaking slot. But that's not what this campaign is all about. It's about much bigger, greater ideas than that. It's about the future direction or our party and the future direction of our nation. And these are more important than whether I get to speak at the convention.

SHAW: Some of your people have been talking up the idea of you being number two on the ticket. Do you really think Bob Dole would want or choose you as his running mate?

BUCHANAN: Well, I think- [laughs] that's some of our people talking. There's a lot of talk going on right now. Bernie, I think this. Right now, Bob Dole is my rival and opponent for the Republican nomination. I know how close he is to it, but we're going to keep fighting for our ideas and issues and shape the Republican party of the future. Bob Dole as you know, 60 percent of the voters in Wisconsin yesterday said they didn't think Bob Dole had any ideas. We have ideas. We want those ideas to prevail and we're not going let anything deter us from fighting for them at that convention.

SHAW: In your mind does Bob Dole now have the Republican Party's presidential nomination?

BUCHANAN: I would think that unless something really- something that is totally unpredictable happen, Bob Dole, even if he lost California next week, would still pick up enough delegates in the ensuing weeks to be over the top, and something would have to happen to take it away from him that is really unpredictable right now, there is no question about it.

SHAW: Last quick question.

BUCHANAN: Sure.

SHAW: Exit polling data showed that a lot of voters regarded you as `too extreme.' Do you think if you had moderated your message somewhat in this highly contested campaign that you would have finished better, historically?

BUCHANAN: What happened there is, that's the responsibility of Senator Dole and his attack ads and push-polls. I saw that same thing. Bernie, if they put a million dollars calling you extreme and then called everybody in a state like Arizona who is Republican and said `he's extreme,' a lot of folks would say when they asked who Bernie was, they'd say `Isn't Bernie that extremist?' And I think that's what did it - the attack ads and push-polls. Senator Dole can take credit for that and responsibility for having done that, but there's no doubt it created a problem for us.

SHAW: OK. We know you have a very busy schedule. Thank you very much for taking time out to talk with us.

BUCHANAN: Always good talking with you, Bernie.

SHAW: Always a pleasure here. Thank you.

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