Reagan Country Goes Perot-Choice

THE MORNING after the June 2 California primary, Tom Steele, an auto-leasing agent in Fountain Valley, and a veteran Republican volunteer, replaced the Buchanan sticker on his bumper with one for Ross Perot. And he’s not alone. Many of the other conservative activists in Orange County who flirted with Pat Buchanan have also landed in the Perot camp. “Clinton’s a joke,” says Steele. “And of course, the guy in the White House long since lost me.” (Steele voted for Bush in 1988.) “Bush is a nice fellow, the kind you’d want as your next-door neighbor. But as President? He’s a disaster . . . I’ve had it with overregulation and heavy taxation . . . Bush is the problem, not the solution.”

Why turn to Perot? Steele gives familiar answers: The Texas billionaire is a man of action with business smarts; he challenged “rot at the top” at a major corporation; he projects toughness and integrity.

HJ

About the Author

Harold Johnson

THE MORNING after the June 2 California primary, Tom Steele, an auto-leasing agent in Fountain Valley, and a veteran Republican volunteer, replaced the Buchanan sticker on his bumper with one for Ross Perot. And he’s not alone. Many of the other conservative activists in Orange County who flirted with Pat Buchanan have also landed in the Perot camp. “Clinton’s a joke,” says Steele. “And of course, the guy in the White House long since lost me.” (Steele voted for Bush in 1988.) “Bush is a nice fellow, the kind you’d want as your next-door neighbor. But as President? He’s a disaster . . . I’ve had it with overregulation and heavy taxation . . . Bush is the problem, not the solution.”

Why turn to Perot? Steele gives familiar answers: The Texas billionaire is a man of action with business smarts; he challenged “rot at the top” at a major corporation; he projects toughness and integrity.