Clinton Beats Dole to the Punch Again

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WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Clinton launched another pre-emptive strike on Bob Dole's campaign Tuesday when he unveiled a proposal offering a $1,500 per student tax credit to help pay for two years of study after high school. Presented at a Princeton speech, the proposal comes as Dole struggles to come up with his own plan to offer election-year tax cuts without compromising his reputation as a deficit hawk. "Clinton's proposal is practical and he managed to beat Dole to the punch," says TIME's J.F.O. McAllister. "His tax incentive costs about $8 billion and he has found ways to pay for it. Dole, who is considering a fifteen percent across-the-board tax cut, has no idea where the money would come from nor how he would explain to critics his sudden shift to a supply-sider." Responding to Clinton's proposal today, Dole questioned the President's ability to deliver the promised cuts, noting that Clinton's pledge of a middle class tax cut, a cornerstone of the 1992 campaign, was never delivered. Josh Dubow