Perot Taps Running Mate

WASHINGTON, D.C.: Languishing in the polls and turned down by at least three potential vice-presidential candidates, Ross Perot reportedly has settled on political economist and anti-trade author Pat Choate as his running mate. The choice was to be announced in a half-hour infomercial scheduled to air on CBS at 8 p.m. EDT tonight, Reform Party sources tell The Associated Press. Choate is a protectionist and was a strong Perot ally in opposing NAFTA. He co-authored a book with Perot after the Texas billionaire's unsuccessful 1992 presidential run. Choate recently has traveled the country promoting Perot as the best alternative to the two major party candidates. During an appearance in South Carolina last month, Choate predicted Perot would surpass Bob Dole in the polls by mid-October. Those chances appear bleak right now, with Perot at about 5 percent in most polls -->