In a decision that changed the complexion of the American presidential election campaign 34 days before the vote, the Texas billionaire Ross Perot declared himself a candidate for the White House at a press conference Thursday afternoon.


"Volunteers in all 50 states have asked me to run", he said, standing beside his wife and family in Dallas. He said he was "honored to accept their request".


"Certainly if anyone in our country should be obligated to serve our country, it should be me", he added. "Now the American people: I do not work for anybody but you".


Democratic candidate Bill Clinton, who is leading in current polls, has openly worried that a Perot candidacy might doom his chances by siphoning off voters interested in voting out George Bush. Nonetheless, most experts say that Perot, once the leader in three-way polling, has virtually no chance of winning the Nov. 3 election.


A Time Magazine-CNN poll broadcast Thursday indicated that two-thirds of Americans thought Perot should stay out of the race.


"I love this country, I love the American people, I love the principles on which it was found, and I'm sick and tired of seeing those principles violated", Perot said of his decision to run. "Looking forward, working together, we can fix anything".


Perot, 62, named James Stockdale as his vice-presidential candidate. Stockdale a retired rear admiral who holds the Medal of Honor, was held prisoner of war in Vietnam.


"He is a man of steel", Perot said of his vice-presidential candidate.


Perot first signaled his interest in the presidency in a February interview with the Tennessean, an American newspaper, followed by a now-famous appearance on CNN's "Larry King Live". His popularity soared over the next two months as a grassroots campaign got underway, but his image gradually grew tarnished as the media began investigating his business practices.


Although never a formal candidate, Perot announced in July that he would not seek the presidency. But he did not discourage his volunteers from continuing the campaign, and he continued to spend toward that end.