DETROIT, Nov. 2 -- Reform Party presidential candidate Ross Perot continued to hammer away at campaign finances Saturday, accusing both major party candidates of selling the government to special interests. Perot told supporters at a rally in Michigan that if elected, he would put up a sign saying: 'This White House is not for sale.' Although he did not spare the Republicans, President Clinton was largely the target in Perot's last rally in the Midwest before Tuesday's election. Perot blasted Clinton for what he described as the president's lack of ethics. Perot also said Clinton has not kept campaign promises and has traded political favors and trade concessions for contributions to the Democratic Party. 'Is it too much to ask that the man in the White House be honest, trustworthy, and loyal?' Perot asked. Perot also returned to two favorite topics: the budget deficit and the impending crises in the Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare systems. 'If you have a friend who drinks too much, you know the liver will go. You just don't know when. If he smokes too much, the lungs will go. You just don't know when. And if he spends too much, he'll go broke. You just don't know when.' He said that the United States must face these economic realities soon in order to make sure that there is something left for America's children and grandchildren. 'The sooner we start, the less painful it will be,' he said. It is unclear how welcome this message of fiscal austerity will be to the general voting population, but Perot is betting that it strikes a chord.
He is buying two hours of television time on Monday, the evening of Election Day, to make a final appeal to voters. 'Dropping out is absolutely not going to happen,' said campaign spokeswoman Sharon Holman. And she added in response to Republican candidate Bob Dole: 'I think it's clear that a vote for Dole is a wasted vote.' Perot and his supporters also challenged the polls, saying that they are biased against the third-party candidate. The latest, by the Wall Street Journal, shows him trailing behind Dole and Clinton with just over 13 percent of the vote. 'My wife was polled yesterday and she was given a choice between Clinton and Dole,' said Reform Party national issues coordinator Oscar Lecea. 'And when she said that she was voting for Perot, the pollster said, 'We'll just list you as undecided.'' It was Perot's second trip to Michigan in his second bid for the presidency. His advisers said the state, where he made a strong showing in 1992, is crucial to this year's success. Privately, however, they said they are not counting on a victory. 'If he gets 25 percent of the vote, we'll be entitled to equal parity with the Democrats and the Republicans in the next election,' one campaign staffer said. 'That's what we're aiming for.' Perot returned to Dallas Saturday and planned to spend Sunday working on his television commercials. On Monday morning, he will attend a rally in San Antonio, his last scheduled appearance of the campaign.
