Clinton To Address Campaign Finance Reform

PHILADELPHIA (Oct. 29) -- With his Democratic Party under fire for a series of embarrassing campaign finance irregularities, President Bill Clinton is planning to address the issue during the campaign's final week.

Under the theory that the best defense is a strong offense, Clinton will try to turn the tables on his Republican critics, accusing Republican nominee and retired Sen. Bob Dole, House Speaker Newt Gingrich and others of blocking a bipartisan campaign finance reform initiative this year.

Aides say the president will recall his handshake last year in New Hampshire with Gingrich pledging to create a bipartisan commission to study the issue. He will blame Gingrich for abandoning that commitment.

And Clinton will also accuse Dole of filibustering legislation earlier this year co-sponsored by Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold and Republican Sen. John McCain, a close Dole friend and adviser.

But the president is unlikely to respond directly to an increasing number of questions involving Democratic campaign money coming from people with close ties to Asian business interests.

For days, Clinton has avoided contact with reporters, trying to play it safe during the campaign's final days. In contrast, a speech is something he and his aides can control. White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry says that it will probably be delivered later on Thursday or Friday, in the West.

On the campaign trail in Columbus, Ohio, Tuesday, Clinton promoted his politically safe theme of the day: improving educational standards. He challenged states and local communities to publish report cards on every public school. "The only way to get excellence in education for everyone is to define it, to expect it, to demand it, and then to measure it," Clinton said.

But at a rally at Ohio State University, Clinton was repeatedly interrupted by about a dozen Dole-Kemp supporters. The crowd cheered wildly when the president responded to the hecklers by saying, "I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll bet they won't be doing that a week from today."

There was no mention of campaign finance reform at the president's next stop in Philadelphia. His aides are confident he can ride out the uproar. And even a Republican expert says that's very possible.

Former Republican Federal Election Commission official Jan Baran said, "The debate about campaign finance in the late days of this election is going to have an impact in the next Congress. Whether it's going to affect the results of this election is much less certain."

McCurry said that while Clinton supports campaign finance reform, he is not going to "unilaterally disarm," meaning the president is not going to miss an opportunity to raise as many millions as possible. He is scheduled to appear at one fund-raiser tonight in Washington, D.C., and another one Wednesday morning.

Clinton To Address Campaign Finance Reform

Related Stories: