Ross Redux

LIKE A TIN PAN ALLEY TROUPER, ROSS PEROT HAS A craving for the limelight and for Larry King Live. His latest gig casts him as head of a new watchdog group, designed to badger Bill Clinton and Congress about federal spending and the deficit. Before a crowded Dallas press conference, a pleased Perot unveiled new versions of the old props -- the fiscal charts, an 800 number and TV commercials -- that helped him capture 19% of the vote in November. Then he regaled reporters (or at least himself) with a scratchy rendition of Patsy Cline's smash hit Crazy, his old campaign theme song.

Perot vows to revitalize his United We Stand America, Inc. (membership: $15), in every neighborhood. But he was quick to disavow another campaign for the White House. If he had to run again, he reasoned, "I would feel that I personally failed." Remember that quote when he announces his candidacy three years from now.