Dole Says He’d Name Prospective Cabinet Polls Show Little Change In Wake Of Debate

Hustling back to the campaign trail after the first presidential debate, Bob Dole pressed his comeback quest Monday by insisting he’s the candidate voters can trust - and suggesting he might name some prospective Cabinet choices in advance, including retired Gen. Colin Powell.

President Clinton, comfortably ahead in the polls, pursued support in states that normally vote Republican.

Both candidates were trying to build on momentum they claimed from Sunday’s showdown in Hartford, Conn., although early polls suggested the debate had produced little movement in the race.

Dole traveled across New Jersey in a bus caravan. Then, in a television interview in New York City Monday evening, Dole hinted at some of the people he’d like to see in a Dole Cabinet.

Interviewed on the new cable Fox News Channel, Dole was asked if Powell would be secretary of state if Dole were elected.

“I haven’t made that specific promise. What I might do is indicate some of the people who would be in a Dole administration without any specific title,” Dole responded. “I discussed this generally with Gen. Powell.”

He said he had had similar discussions with former Education Secretary Bill Bennett and former Secretary of State James A. Baker III. Dole did not indicate when he might actually announce names.

But some advisers have urged him for some time to make such announcements as a way of bringing new energy to his campaign.

“They’re people who have been in government. They understand government. They believe in public service,” he said. “There are some who say it would be a good idea to go announce two or three or four or five people, men and women. It would be sort of a contrast between the people Bob Dole might choose and the people Bill Clinton has chosen.”

Earlier, Dole told a rally in Toms River, N.J.: “When people think of Bob Dole, I want them to think of the word trust. Trust. Trust. And when they think of the word Bill Clinton, I want them to think of the word fear.”

Dole pressed his plan for a 15-percent tax cut by campaigning with Republican Gov. Christie Whitman, who upset Democratic incumbent James Florio in 1993 largely on the promise of a big tax cut.

In Stamford, Conn., Clinton accepted the endorsement of 2,500 corporate leaders, many of whom already were known as Clinton supporters.

“I have wondered for years why the Democratic Party shouldn’t have at least as much support in the business community as the other party,” Clinton said.

A sign hanging from the balcony read, “One Down. Congratulations, Mr President!”

The president, with the luxury of a big lead, was also campaigning in normally Republican Maine and New Hampshire.

Clinton’s political aides asserted that Clinton did well enough in the opening debate to fortify his standing in the polls - and that he would spend less time in traditionally Democratic states like New York and Massachusetts where he has built up huge leads.

Dole was somewhat subdued on Monday after overnight polling found neither candidate scored much of an advantage in the debate.

But later, he joked during his New Jersey bus trip: “I felt good last night when an impartial observer told me I won the debate. And Elizabeth generally knows what she’s talking about.”