Campaign Notebook

Saturday’s developments:

Presidential race

Lamar Alexander took out after Steve Forbes, Sen. Bob Dole and even President Clinton as he campaigned on the last weekend before Monday’s precinct caucuses in Iowa. Alexander cast himself as the only Republican who could beat Clinton in November and said Dole has blown his opportunity. Of Forbes, Alexander said, “It’s as if someone had said we’ll have a contest with water pistols to see who’s going to be president of the 5th grade and we’re all shooting our water pistols at each other and here comes some rich kid with a machine gun.”

Pat Buchanan reached out to the religious right for support, suggesting that backers of Sen. Phil Gramm and conservative talk show host Alan Keyes should back him instead. “If we unite by Monday night we can do it,” he said. “There is only one conservative left in this campaign who can beat Bob Dole,” he told a Knights of Columbus audience in Carroll, Iowa.

Bob Dole tried to lure away supporters of faltering candidates. “If you want your vote to count, you have got to go to the caucus and vote for someone who can beat Bill Clinton,” he told farmers in Indianola.

Steve Forbes Slipping a bit in the polls, Forbes accused Bob Dole on Saturday of hiring a Utah company to smear him in anonymous calls to voters.

Phil Gramm said he would stay in the race regardless of his Iowa showing. Throughout the week, Gramm has said he would bow out if he placed lower than third in Iowa.

Dick Lugar spent the afternoon campaigning in New Hampshire. He urged voters to take a stand against negative campaign tactics being used by his rivals.

Upcoming on TV

Today

Alexander on CNN’s “Late Edition” at 9 a.m. PST. Also on ABC’s “This Week With David Brinkley.”

Buchanan on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Monday

Forbes on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal” 6 a.m. PST.

Today’s stops

Alexander: In Iowa, Sioux City

and Des Moines.

Buchanan: In Iowa, Des Moines.

Dole: In Iowa, Moline, Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Des Moines.

Forbes: Des Moines, Iowa.

Gramm: In Iowa, Davenport, Waterloo, Dubuque, Ames.

Lugar: In Iowa, Des Moines, Muscatine.