1992-07-16
This is the President. I just called Ross Perot. On a very personal basis, I congratulated him. I told him I understood how difficult a decision it must have been. I told him that he had really and truly energized an awful lot of people.
Obviously, I told him I would welcome his support and the support of all those who have been out there working for him. I congratulated him on the excitement that he brought to the race, particularly the way he energized the volunteers. It is rather significant and certainly unique in these times what he was able to do, encouraging these volunteers.
Now we will make it clear to all those Perot supporters that we share many of their same principles and that we want their support and that we welcome them warmly into our campaign. As I say, we share those principles. We need their help bringing about the implementation of these principles.
Many of the Perot supporters were basically conservative people. They were people that are worried about the values of family, that were worried about the economy and the need to get these deficits under control, the need to do something different about the neighborhoods. So I believe that we will have an opportunity to make clear to these people that they should feel at home with us as we start the campaign after the Republican Convention.
Note: The President spoke at 11:10 a.m. to reporters by telephone from Secretary of State James A. Baker's ranch.
