Panetta Calls Dole's Attack A 'Cover-Up' of Congressional Failures

By Wolf Blitzer/CNN

MOSCOW (AllPolitics, April 20) -- White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta said Saturday that Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole's latest attack on President Clinton's record on crime is a "cover-up" for the Republican-led Congress' "failure to deal with the crime issue."

In an interview in Moscow, for Saturday's CNN program "Inside Politics Weekend," Panetta lashed out at the Senate Majority Leader's Friday comments which suggested Clinton is weak on crime and has a record of appointing liberal judges.

"From our point of view, it seems a little desperate," Panetta said. "We're more than happy to engage him on this issue."

Pointing out that Dole voted in favor of 182 out of 185 judges nominated by Clinton, Panetta said that "If he (Dole) had problems, he certainly didn't indicate them early on." (221K AIFF or WAV sound)

Panetta, traveling with the president, appeared to reject House Speaker Newt Gingrich's suggestion of a possible compromise on raising the nation's minimum wage, linking it with a tax credit.

"If they want to advance a $500-a-child credit, we're more than prepared to work with them on that," Panetta said, "but let's not muddy up the issue of the minimum wage."

Panetta said he was surprised by House Majority Leader Dick Armey's latest statements that Republicans kept a sharp focus on Whitewater and other issues embarrassing to the president because the White House was engaged in "bloodsport" and that the Democratic Party is "very mean." (162K WAV sound)

"I think we've always assumed that the basic motivations here on Whitewater were largely political," he said, "but to have the Majority Leader of the House basically say that Whitewater is justified by politics, I think basically confirms our worst suspicions about why this is happening."

Dole Blasts Clinton's Judicial Appointments

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Panetta Calls Dole's Attack A 'Cover-Up' of Congressional Failures

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