ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, August 11, 1996 TAG: 9608120061
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RUSSELL, KAN.
SOURCE: Knight-Ridder/Tribune and The New York Times
NOTE: Lede
As skyrockets shook Main Street and tiny flags on parachutes descended from the drizzly sky, Jack Kemp joined Bob Dole's campaign for the White House on Saturday and instantly set a new, uplifting tone with calls for a renewed nation that leaves no one behind.
Standing before an enormous U.S. flag in the center of Dole's hometown, the new candidate for vice president issued a populist message meant to appeal to the kinds of voters that many say Republicans overlook - minorities, poor people, union workers and those who have lost hope.
More notably, he offered the kind of clear and enticing vision for a safe, united and prosperous nation that many voters have found lacking in Dole's candidacy. ``It is within our grasp to renew America's promise, its possibilities, and, most of all, its potential,'' said Kemp, who spoke just 15 hours after Dole asked him to join the ticket.
``Bob Dole has formally accepted that challenge. He has unfurled our banner of growth and opportunity and hope and cultural renewal. He has proposed to fundamentally reorganize and finally change and reform the way government does business. He wants to expand equality of opportunity for all our people.''
Kemp's optimistic message offered a sharp contrast to Dole's recent glum depictions of America - a portrait of economic stagnation and moral decay that can be fixed only with the help of a president grounded by conservative ideals. While Dole frequently says he wants to bring back the safe, wholesome America of his youth, Kemp, 61, talks more about an America that hasn't yet arrived, one that provides opportunities for people who haven't had them before.
``Bob and I are asking Americans to believe again in the promise of the American dream, to reach once more for the distant stars,'' Kemp said. ``We ask for your hands. We ask for your hearts and prayers. We want you to stand by us in this battle. And together, with God's help, we can achieve a better life for each and every American.''
``He has proposed to fundamentally reorganize and finally change and reform the way government does business,'' Kemp said of Dole. ``He wants to expand equality of opportunity for all our people. That's made the Republican Party the Lincoln party. It's now the Lincoln-Reagan-Dole reform party for America.''
``These are two four-letter words you can teach your children: Dole-Kemp,'' Dole told the receptive audience of nearly 2,000. He pronounced Kemp ``a man of unlimited talent, energy and vision, an American original.
``I've been saying for weeks, I wanted a running mate who rates a 10. Someone who believes in the same values I believe in. Someone who is ready to fight the battles I will fight. Someone who has courage, integrity and character. I was looking for a 10, and I found a No.15, which is the number Jack wore while playing for the Buffalo Bills.''
Talking with reporters later Saturday, Dole was asked what it was that guided him to Kemp. ``One of the big issues is going to be economics and tax cuts,'' he said. ``There's not a better salesman than Jack Kemp.''
Both stressed that the Dole/Kemp ticket would press for tax cuts while ``not leaving anyone behind.'' Dole said, ``Jack and I are going to work side by side with the Republican Congress to restore the American dream to every citizen.''
Kemp, whose longtime concern about racial matters made him appealing to a campaign trying to broaden its base, quoted Martin Luther King and talked about an expansive party that lifted people up. ``No one will be left behind, and no one will be turned away,'' he promised. ``Our goal is not to win, but to be worthy of winning.''
Charlie Black, a senior adviser to Kemp, said both Dole and Kemp have put previous policy differences behind them. He noted that Dole's recent adoption of Kemp's tax-cutting philosophy erased one of the major points of their dispute.
As to other potential points of friction, Black said: ``Bob Dole is in charge. He's going to be the president, and Jack Kemp will support his policies. ... The bottom line is, whatever Bob Dole's for, Jack Kemp's for.''
The appearance was designed as a crisp, upbeat send-off before the two men go to San Diego today, where the Republican National Convention convenes Monday to formally endorse them as the party's ticket.
Govs. William Weld of Massachusetts and Pete Wilson of California have withdrawn as speakers to the convention in response to efforts by convention managers to tightly focus the event's political message. Party Chairman Haley Barbour downplayed the dispute, saying the blame for what he called a ``bump in the road'' in campaign preparations should be ``laid at my feet.''
He insisted there was no attempt to censor Weld, who had sought to promote abortion rights in his speech to the delegates, or to punish Wilson, who had pressured platform writers to abandon a long-standing plank to ban abortion.
Barbour said Weld had been asked to speak during prime-time television coverage about his efforts to cut taxes and reform welfare in his state, but Weld declined the invitation.
Barbour said Wilson was asked to speak briefly early Monday as ``the host governor,'' but that any other remarks would have to be done in a video presentation, the same as all the other defeated presidential candidates.
That policy was initiated by the Dole campaign largely to prevent Pat Buchanan from delivering the kind of fiery speech he gave to the 1992 convention, an event that many party officials believe contributed to the defeat of then-President Bush.
The Associated Press and Cox News Service contributed to this story.
LENGTH: Long : 108 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. 1. GOP presidential candidate Bob Dole watches Jackby CNBKemp throw a pass to a supporter Saturday in Russell, Kan., where
Dole formally introduced Kemp as his running mate. color. 2. News
crews in San Diego to cover the Republican convention surround Susan
Cramer of Cleveland and other abortion opponents as she prays
Saturday outside a clinic. KEYWORDS: POLITICS PRESIDENT