![[Dole Quote]](dole.quote.gif)
![[Bob Dole]](bob.jpg)
WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, March 18) -- Just as he claimed the GOP nomination, Sen. Robert Dole tonight tried to head off an independent run for the White House by billionaire Ross Perot.
Dole, who captured primaries in Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin and Michigan, said Republicans are working on all the issues that Perot and his Reform Party care about, including a balanced budget, lobbying reform, term limits and campaign finance reform.
"We are the reform party," Dole told CNN's Candy Crowley. "I'd say, 'Ross, what else do you want?'" (96K AIFF or WAV sound)
It was a sweet night for Dole, 72, who had run for president twice before but seen the nomination slip away each time. The only distraction: A new suggestion from Perot, in a Texas radio interview, that he might launch another independent run for the White House.
Dole was cautious about claiming the nomination, suggesting next week's winner-take-all primary in California would cement it by putting him well over the 996 delegates he needed.
Still, with CNN and the Associated Press saying he had the delegtes, Dole knows his third try for the nomination would be successful.
"The first time I came up empty. The last time I came up short," Dole told AP. "This time I'm coming up full."
He did talk about the process of selecting a running mate. Dole said it would be someone he knows, someone who shares his views and someone could could take over from the first day of a Dole administration, if need be. (256K AIFF or WAV sound)
In today's Industrial Heartland primaries, Dole was able to coast, after clean sweeps in the Junior and Super Tuesday primaries finally gave him some breathing room in a tough primary season.
Dole is focusing most of his attention on President Clinton.
"I think when you choose the president of the United States, you're going to choose somebody with experience. That's what the election of 1996 is all about," Dole told one group.
He dismissed pugnacious pundit Buchanan as a distant afterthought. "This race is between Bob Dole and Bill Clinton, make no mistake about it," Dole said.
Buchanan, looking for a miracle, worked to appeal to independents, Democrats and organized labor. He spent more than $130,000 on ads in Michigan, hoping his "economic nationalism" message might strike a nerve with workers worried about their jobs.
In an unusual, pre-election concession, Buchanan agreed Dole was likely to score an overwhelming win. "I know that, for heaven's sake. I'm a realist," he told one reporter.