"Just look at who he's going to be running against in November," said Mr. Forbes, referring to his desire to see voters evict President Clinton from the White House in November. "And believing in redemption, I think it's Bill Bennett who said in another context that his favorite saying was that 'Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future,' " he said.

"I believe Senator Dole has a fantastic future just as he probably would think some day that I might have a future if I started to talk like he talked," Mr. Forbes added. He went on to say that in the areas of tax cuts, foreign policy and character, Mr. Dole was preferable to the President.

Campaigning in Michigan today, Mr. Dole said he had called Mr. Forbes to thank him for his endorsement. But the Kansas Senator grumbled about the campaign Mr. Forbes had run against him, which Mr. Dole blamed for his difficulty in the early going.

"He was bashing me," Mr. Dole said of Mr. Forbes. "I don't have to worry about that for a while."

Mr. Dole's aides said the conversation with Mr. Forbes was very brief, and when a reporter asked Mr. Dole if Mr. Forbes had apologized for his negative television commercials, Mr. Dole responded: "We didn't talk that long."

In his remarks today, Mr. Forbes also predicted that Mr. Clinton's considerable skills as a campaigner would not get him re-elected. "It will take more than charisma to win this campaign," he said. "People have had enough of that. It's like cotton candy -- very fun to eat but it's not a fulfilling meal. People want substance now."