LANSING (AP) - Elizabeth Dole charmed about 1,500 supporters yesterday with stories about her husband's childhood and private good deeds as she urged voters to decide the presidential election on the candidates' character.
Mrs. Dole stepped away from the speaker's platform and strolled the aisles around the crowd while emphasizing virtues such as patriotism and love of God she said make up her husband's character.
"This election is about the vision and values that will shape America as we move into the next century. It's about the character of the person who will lead us there," she said.
And she said Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole's character is the reason voters can be sure he will cut income taxes 15 percent if he's elected.
"He doesn't make a promise he doesn't intend to keep. You can take it to the bank when he says he is going to do it," she said.
The stress on character was a reminder to voters of some of the issues that have dogged President Clinton's four years in office, including questions about an Arkansas land development known as Whitewater.
Before speaking to workers and supporters on the plant floor at the Demmer Corp., Mrs. Dole took a short tour of the plant, a tool and dye manufacturer for the automotive industry.
Afterward, she got rave reviews.
"I think she was wonderful," said Elizabeth Bogusz of Charlotte.
Bogusz said she likes "how she endorses her husband, stands behind her husband."
Asked what impressed her most about Mrs. Dole's speech, she said, "Everything, everything."
Mrs. Dole recounted how her husband learned values such as personal responsibility and respect while growing up poor in Russell, Kan.
She said those qualities helped sustain him on World War II battlefields and during his recovery at a Battle Creek hospital from war wounds, she said.
She showed the crowd a recentl found letter sent to his family telling them he was unlikely to recover from his injuries, prompting his father to take the train from Kansas to visit him. She said Dole's father stood for the entire journey because he couldn't afford a ticket.
"He (Dole) became very sensitive to the problems of other people. ... He will protect and strengthen and defend the safety net for those who need it because he used it," she said.
She told the crowd that Dole has invited inner city youth to their home for Thanksgiving and started a foundation to raise money for the disabled.
Meanwhile, she managed a few subtle jabs at Clinton as untrustworthy.
Noting that Michigan Gov. John Engler had overwhelmingly won re-election on the slogan, "Promises Made, Promises Kept," she said: "And I have to say, that is one thing that Bill Clinton is not going to try to copy."
And she showed the crowd a small red rocking chair that rocks from right to left, calling it a "Clinton rocker."
Mrs. Dole said as first lady she would make her priority increasing volunteer time and charitable contributions by 1 percent nationwide. She said that would make $62 billion more available for charitable causes.
Meanwhile, Michigan Democrats questioned Dole's commitment to helping people. In a news release, they noted Dole opposed the Family and Medical Leave Act, which guarantees workers can take time off to care for a sick parent or new baby.