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Buchanan bolts, but outlook not any clearer

''Only the Reform Party offers the hope of a real debate and a true choice."

So says Pat Buchanan, jumping from the Republican Party -- where his presidential hopes didn't get any respect -- to the Reform Party.

That's the party of Ross Perot, Jesse Ventura and Donald Trump.

Which means Buchanan should get plenty of debate. Those folks won't prostrate themselves and hand over the nomination. Although they certainly are fellow populists, they also are in the Reform Party because they want to be president.

It's anybody's guess about how Buchanan's decision will affect the 2000 presidential election. The loss to the GOP of those who follow him to the Reform Party could be offset by a gain of people he kept away with his most radical ideas.

At the same time, the arrival of his ultraconservative views may prompt turmoil in his new party.

A third party movement with a unified political purpose would have a greater impact than a conglomeration of populists whose philosophies clash.

And looming over any course of action for the Reform Party remains the question: Is this party still owned by its founder, Ross Perot?