Campaign Notes

Thursday’s developments on the presidential campaign trail:

Kiss of Death?

Massachusetts Gov. William Weld has backed so many losing candidates in his career that people joke his endorsement is the kiss of death.

But that hasn’t stopped Weld from prognosticating, and his latest prediction is that Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole will pick retired Gen. Colin Powell to be his vice-presidential running mate.

“Well, I think Colin Powell, but my predicting ability in the presidential arena has not been very pronounced in past races,” the governor said. “So, I think that and 80 cents will buy you a cup of coffee.”

Weld has endorsed Dole, who locked up the Republican presidential nomination earlier this week. Earlier, however, Weld supported California Gov. Pete Wilson, who folded his presidential campaign in September after only four weeks as a formal candidate.

The candidates:

Dole felt “at home” working in the Senate, where he has been since 1969, after weeks on the road campaigning. For his part, Dole says he only wants to “be a full-time senator,” leaving the campaign for weekends. But there is no doubt that the Senate majority leader can benefit from some legislative action, like on the current product-liability bill. Dole also testified before a committee about the 10th Amendment, which he often uses as a prop on the campaign trail. Another reminder that Dole’s campaign lives on Capitol Hill: Secret Service agents are now posted outside his office.

Alan Keyes, the struggling Republican presidential candidate, now has his face printed on checks to allow supporters to “put your money where your mouth is” and get him better known in the public.

Samples of the checks, which feature a smiling Keyes in front of a faded red, white and blue background and have an order form on the back, are included in a Keyes campaign direct mailing.

Keyes, who has placed near the bottom in every primary, asks people to send in the “largest gift you possibly can.”

News of note:

Dole’s presidential campaign is on the verge of reaching primary spending limits, according to the latest federal filing, forcing his campaign to remove dozens of senior and junior staff members from its payroll and rely on advertising financed by the Republican Party to get him through the convention in San Diego in August.

In a filing this week with the Federal Election Commission, the Dole campaign reported that by the end of February, it had spent at least $30.4 million that was subject to the overall $37 million limit on spending during the primaries by candidates who receive federal financing.

But the $30.4 million does not include an estimated $5 million spent in March primaries.

In contrast, the Clinton campaign, which has run uncontested, may still spend $24 million between now and the Democratic convention in Chicago in August.

Ross Perot’s former running mate, retired Adm. James Stockdale, will be a Republican convention delegate for Dole this time around.

Ralph Nader says his name as a Green Party candidate on the California ballot worries Clinton because he could draw some voters away from the president in an important state. - From wire reports