Perot Talks at Kennedy School

Populist billionaire H. Ross Perot transformed the Kennedy School of Government's ARCO Forum into a classroom Monday night, lecturing an overflow audience on the virtues of God, country and his proposal for a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Perot was accompanied by his trusty charts, shown on a overhead projector to the applause and laughter of the audience.

As a chart depicting government projections of underestimated budget deficits during the 1980s flashed overhead, Perot quipped: "I think the theme song for the Office of Management and the Budget should be 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow,' 'cause that's where their projections come from."

By one count, Perot praised the devotion of his wife six times quoted Thomas Jefferson five times, blasted the media for inaccuracy eight times and recalled the 1944 storming of the beaches at Normandy four times.

"I hope they will run the story of Normandy and not the story of Madonna's concert on the 50th anniversary this year," Perot said.

While regaling audience with examples of the financial crisis facing the country, Perot also searched for inspirational words.

"I don't want any of you to get down in the dumps or discouraged," he said, "especially in a city where 200 years ago farmers were dropping their ploughs and picking up rifles to fight for freedom."

Citing a Merrill Lynch poll which "just came across my desk," Perot said older Americans are willing to sacrifice to make younger citizens more financially secure.

"We're not going to leave you a country where you can't climb every mountain, fjord every stream, follow every rainbow until you find your dream," he said, borrowing liberally form the musical, "The Sound of Music."

Perot also devoted significant verbiage to bashing Congress and President Clinton. In particular, he criticized the Clinton health care plan because under it, "the small businessperson will be nuked--that's N-U-K-E-D."

"We have people in Washington who honestly believe that money falls out of the sky," said Perot, whose visit to Harvard coincided with a studentrun constitutional convention this past weekend.

But on several occasion during the hour-long address and question and answer session, the crowd appeared to turn against the man who won one of every five votes in the 1992 presidential election.

During a discussion of reduced incomes for working men and women, Perot was hissed at after he said "90 percent of women" would rather be in the home. And in the middle of his answer to one question, the 1992 presidential candidate mysteriously began talking about the talents of certain ethnic groups.

"I want to know why people from India are so smart," Perot said. "When it comes to computers, it's like they have a gene the rest of us don't have."

In addition, Micah Sifry, who identified himself as editor of Perot Periodically: the Unauthorized Quarterly, accused the billionaire of campaigning for a lower deficit in order to help the bond market and increase his personal wealth.

"When the bond rates go down," Perot responded testily, "it costs me money."

Perot also deflected criticism of his opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement, which Congress passed last fall. One Kennedy School student, who voted for Perot in 1992 but said the candidate's stance on the trade pact had changed his mind, angrily asked the billionaire if he would run in 1960 so the student would "get a chance to rectify my mistake."

"Watch it," Perot retorted.

But throughout, Perot was constant in emphasizing that the budget deficit must be eliminated and Americas $4.5 trillion debt must be reduced.