May 18, 1992|By ROGER SIMON
While Ross Perot is taking 60 days off to find out what he deeply believes, I thought I would list some of his past positions.
After reading scores of newspaper articles, magazine stories, transcripts of TV and radio appearances, speeches and books, I have assembled what I consider the Essential Ross Perot.
ON CONGRESS:
"We've got to take away Congress' right to raise taxes. Now there's a radical idea. So, that means a constitutional amendment. Fine. These boys are drinking too much. We've got to take the bottle away from them for a while at least."
ON JUSTICE:
"Our system of justice has failed the people. We've got five percent of the world's population, two-thirds of the world's lawyers, and the average fellow on the street can't afford one to go to court. Strange."
ON ELECTION DAY:
"Let's have elections on Saturday and Sunday. Why can't we leave the polls open two days? If anybody has a good reason, call me collect."
ON ACTION:
"What we have now is a system where if you have potholes in your city, all the politicians hold press conferences on potholes. If and when I ever have to do this job, we're going to get hot !! asphalt, get a shovel, fill potholes, move on to the next one and skip the press conference."
ON WHOM TO WATCH OUT FOR:
"Let me tell you, beware of anybody that gives you simple solutions to complex problems."
ON THE DEFICIT:
"It's like the crazy aunt you keep down in the basement. All the neighbors know she's there, but nobody talks about her."
ON THE PEROT LEGEND:
"When I find intense people who will believe anything you tell them, I make up good stories. I had a woman convinced that my family was descended from Louis XIV."
ON GUN CONTROL:
"I don't know the solution. I will say this, if and when we come up with a solution, I will pursue it day and night."
ON HIS PLANS FOR A WAR ON DRUGS:
"I won't get into them until I can build a consensus with the American people, if they've got the stomach for it. . . . But it won't be pretty."
ON WHETHER A TAX INCREASE IS NECESSARY:
"I don't know yet. I don't have the numbers. When I know, I'll tell you."
ON WHETHER MARRIED WOMEN SHOULD BE FORCED TO NOTIFY THEIR HUSBANDS BEFORE HAVING AN ABORTION:
"Haven't spent 10 minutes thinking about it."
ON WHETHER ISRAEL SHOULD SUSPEND SETTLEMENTS ON THE WEST BANK:
"I don't know enough about it to give you an answer at this point."
ON THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT CONFERENCE IN RIO DE JANEIRO:
"I don't know a thing about it."
ON WHETHER HE WOULD RELEASE HIS INCOME TAX RETURNS:
"If I feel like I want to tell you, I will. If I don't, I won't."
ON THE KIND OF PERSON WHO RUNS FOR PRESIDENT:
"The kind of person who is attracted to the job is power-driven, ego-driven. You watch some of these guys -- you really get the impression they would kill to get it."
ON WHETHER HE SHOULD RUN FOR PRESIDENT:
May 1986: "Nothing, nothing, nothing" could convince him to run for public office.
January 1989: "I don't see myself as someone who can save the United States."
December 1989: "Jeez, I've never run for dogcatcher."
November 1991: "The answer is no. We can cover that in one word. There's no chance."
February 1992: "I might if people in all 50 states asked me to."
ON WHETHER HE KNOWS HIS OWN SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER:
"I've made it a point never to learn my Social Security number because I'm a person, not a number."
ON BEING ATTACKED:
"Getting a piece of me is like going to a barbershop on Saturday. You have to take a ticket and stand in line."
ON ANSWERING QUESTIONS:
"If we're going to spend all morning looking for hidden agendas, then you're just burning up my time and yours. I don't want to do this. Is that clear enough? Is that clear?"
ON ROSS PEROT:
"People are sick of hearing about me."
