SMOKING OUT THE TRUE NATURE OF A PRESIDENTIAL CONtender is never easy, but with not-yet-declared candidate Ross Perot, the journalistic challenge has been especially tough. The billionaire businessman comes with neither a political track record nor detailed position papers, and two weeks ago, he announced he was cutting back on press appearances, which had grown increasingly heated. Sensitive to criticism when it hits home, Perot made no secret of the fact that he was unhappy with his coverage in TIME -- especially a story in the April 6 issue that said he had displayed a "thirst for publicity."
So when Houston...