Speaking of the original Dole proposal, he added: "If it had passed, it could have come back to haunt us.

Mr. Kemp used even stronger language, calling the Dole proposal "absurd."

The Dole proposal, he said, "is a sophisticated form of censure and would not be acceptable."

"I think the Dole proposal is good news, but the market didn't react to it."

While the Dole proposal does call for a family income cut-off for eligibility, the states would not be obliged to give priority to poor, inner-city residents.

Mr. Clinton called his own proposal a "targeted plan," while characterizing the Dole proposal as a "risky scheme."

It is hard to believe that the Dole proposal for repeal of the gas tax is effective even as political pandering.

It is wrong to allege that the Dole proposal will increase our dependence on foreign capital.

And the Dole proposals, if they were all to become law, would not break the bounds.

But such an arrangement, particularly the Dole proposal, struck many as presumptuous.