Dole, Buchanan Campaign In Midwest

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AllPolitics, March 15) -- If only he could just focus on President Clinton.

GOP front-runner Sen. Robert Dole (R-Kan.) has the Republican nomination comfortably within his grasp, yet he's mired in intra-GOP sniping.

Illinois, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin hold primaries on Tuesday, and campaigning in the Midwest Thursday, Dole took a swipe at the president, calling him "old Veto Bill." "In the months ahead, we're going to attract independents and Democrats," Dole said. "People are looking for a common-sense conservative."

Dole also visited the Battle Creek, Mich. hospital where he spent months convalescing following his World War II wound, a stop clearly designed to highlight the Kansan's wartime sacrifice. During that period of recovery, "I learned a lot about myself," Dole commented (330K AIFF or WAV sound) .

But while the Kansas senator declared soon-to-come GOP unity would end Clinton's "free ride," rival conservative commentator Pat Buchanan continued to assert his thorn-in-Dole's-side independence. "The word quit is not in our lexicon," Buchanan boasted during a midwest campaign stop.

And, he's tired of insults from Dole and surrogates like Sen. Alfonse D'Amato (R-N.Y.) who called Buchanan's backers "a bunch of ayatollahs."

While the fiery commentator won't explicitly acknowledge he's contemplating a third-party challenge, he won't rule it out either (165K AIFF or WAV sound) . He's considering plans to survey 125,000 backers after California's March 26 primary on what direction his crusade should take.

"That mailing is going to give him a lot of direction," Buchanan spokesman John Condit told the Associated Press. "His status as an outsider is a big issue and is on the line when it comes to endorsing Dole. That's what we're hearing on the campaign trail."

Elizabeth Dole, campaigning in Normal, Ill., told a Republican rally "Bob Doe can unite the economic conservatives and the social conservatives." She added: "We have some work to do, don't we, to get back on track."

That may be putting it charitably. "We're going up into the hills and we're not coming down until deep, late in the summer," Buchanan told a Detroit rally. We're going to meet in San Diego."

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