THE Reform Party presidential candidate, Mr Ross Perot, yesterday dismissed an offer by the Republican presidential candidate, Mr Bob Dole, that he drop out of the race and support Mr Dole's flagging bid.
"I am here to stay," Mr Perot told journalists at the National Press Club.
"Am I in this for the long haul? Yes. Do I intend to campaign to the bitter end? Yes," he added.
Media reports had said Mr Dole sent his campaign chief to meet Mr Perot in an effort to convince the independent candidate to throw his electoral weight behind the struggling Republicans.
"When people ask me to have private conversations, I honour their commitment," Mr Perot said, refusing to reveal the content of his contacts with the Dole camp.
President Clinton's reelection campaign officials greeted the news as they have most of Mr Dole's recent strategic moves, branding the effort a sign of growing desperation.
The consensus is that, some 12 days before the November 5th vote, Mr Dole needs something to cut a double digit lead for the president in the polls.
Last month, Mr Dole's call for Perot voters to swing behind the Republican banner fell on deaf ears after the Republicans played a leading role in excluding Mr Perot from the series of two televised presidential debates between Mr Clinton and Mr Dole.
Though on friendly personal terms with Mr Dole, Mr Perot has repeatedly mocked the Republican standard bearer during the election campaign.
"The whole effort of first locking Ross Perot out of the debate, pretending he doesn't exist in American politics . . . then in the 11th hour of the campaign recognising this is probably the last hope he has of re establishing an opportunity to win the presidency is absolutely foolish," Mr Perot's campaign co ordinator, Mr Russell Verney, said.
Even Dole campaign chiefs were reportedly taken by surprise by the secret mission to the Perot campaign.
A Clinton spokesman, Mr Joe Lockhart, said Bob Dole faces a daunting task looking for voters in any place he can find them."
Mr Dole is well behind in yesterday's Wall Street Journal/NBC poll which gives Mr Clinton 52 per cent of the vote against 35 per cent for the Republican challenger and six per cent for Mr Perot.
According to a USA Today/CNN poll, Mr Clinton holds' a 16 point lead with 51 per cent to Mr Dole's 35 and Mr Perot's seven.
A Los Angeles Times poll published on Wednesday put Mr Clinton ahead of Mr Dole by 20 points, with Mr Perot a distant third with 6 per cent.
It is not even clear that Mr Perot's possible endorsement of Mr Dole would benefit the former senator.
A September New York Times poll of Perot supporters found that - were their candidate not in the running - 48 per cent would vote for Mr Clinton against 30 per cent for Mr Dole.
Besides allegedly wooing Mr Perot's supporters, Mr Dole this week has also dropped his aggressive attack on President Clinton's ethics and character.
The paper quoted Mr Dole's aides as saying that the attacks backfired on Mr Dole.