The Bush and Clinton campaigns became concerned about a candidacy, and publicly wondered if Perot could continue to "play by his own rules".[39] They attempted to downgrade Perot from his "folk hero status"[39] to that of a politician, by highlighting his "alleged character flaws".[39] Meanwhile, Perot focused on sharpening his political positions as he promised. He hired John P. White, who served as a budget official under President Jimmy Carter, to work on his budget platform.[39] Meanwhile, petition drives in every state reported that they had secured enough signatures to place Perot on the Election Day ballot. Speculation arose in the media that Perot would split the electoral college and force the United States House of Representatives to decide the presidency.[40] Around this time, Hal Riney, who had worked on Ronald Reagan's 1984 campaign and was known for the "Morning in America" ad, was hired as advertising consultant.