After Debate, Candidates Hit The Campaign Trail

HARTFORD, Conn. (AllPolitics, Oct. 7) -- The first day after the presidential debate saw more good economic news for President Bill Clinton, as the Dow Jones average cruised passed the 6,000 mark. Unbothered, challenger Bob Dole was rolling down New Jersey's highways and byways with the Garden State's tax-cutting governor at his side.

The president addressed an enthusiastic rally in Manchester, N.H. this afternoon, where he praised the tone and substance of Sunday's debate.

"I enjoyed that debate," Clinton said. "And I thank Senator Dole for joining me and I believe that the American people got a pretty good feel for the differences between us, the differences between in our views, and we just proved you can still do it and be civilized and decent and humane and that's the way we ought to conduct our public affairs in this country."

Dole, stopping in Toms River, N.J., commented on the debate as well. "I felt good last night when an impartial observer told me I won last night's debate," he said. "And Elizabeth generally knows what she is talking about, too." (160K WAV sound)

As Dole moved on, his staffers remained in the spin cycle. Top strategists say Dole clearly accomplished his number one goal Sunday night, showing a nationwide audience a funny, compassionate candidate who says what he means and means what he says -- a point Dole punctuated again in New Jersey.

"When I give you my word, I keep my word and I have always kept my word. Which you can't say for President Clinton," he added.

It is an echo of the original Dole campaign theme: who can you trust? It plays not only into the character comparison issue, but more recently into the core of Dole's campaign -- his tax cut. Aides believe voters are skeptical of Dole's plan because they are cynical about politicians.

Enter Mrs. Dole in her first solo TV ad: "When Bob says he'll cut taxes 15 percent for families, you can count on it. Because it's right for America. And Bob Dole doesn't make promises he can't keep," she says in the new spot.

Like the candidate, Dole's staff is focused now on the possibilities of tomorrow rather than the reality of today's polls. They note that at this point in her race Christine Todd Whitman and her tax cut plan were down by double digits. Now they call her "Governor."

Campaigning earlier today in Stamford, Conn., Clinton asked a business group to hire welfare recipients to help him keep welfare reform from failing. "Only the private sector in America can prove that I was right to sign that bill and those who thought I was wrong were wrong. The government can not hire all these people." (128K WAV sound)

Though Clinton aides say Dole managed to score points Sunday night in Hartford by going negative, the president deliberately didn't talk about the debate during his first campaign appearance of the day. His aides say he wants to look ahead, not behind.

Privately, they say they were relieved the debate focused mostly on the issues and that Dole did not stress personal subjects like Whitewater and Clinton's character, areas where Clinton is seen as vulnerable. They say their internal post-debate polls were similar to the instant news organization polls which declared Clinton the winner.

In Stamford, Clinton won the endorsements of the 300 business leaders who gathered in a local theater and another 2,500 who signed on from around the nation.

Alan Patricof, the CEO of Patricof and Company, told CNN why he is backing the President. "Everyone likes to back a winner. But I think the real fact is that the economy is great," Patricof said.

Steve Wiggins, chairman of Oxford Health Plans, said he believed Clinton won last night's debate. "He looked pretty presidential," he said. "Dole might have seemed like a fellow you might want to go fishing with but Bill Clinton seemed like a fellow you might want to have be president."

Clinton's aides say Dole needed a knockout in Hartford to get his campaign on track. That didn't happen. But they acknowledge that Dole did come across well, showing some wit with a human touch. That, they say, was enough to put a bit of a scare into the president as he begins to prepare for the second debate next week in San Diego.

CNN's Candy Crowley and Wolf Blitzer contributed to this report

After Debate, Candidates Hit The Campaign Trail

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