Kerry Firm in Economic Stance

On a day when he paid his respects to former President Reagan, Sen. John F. Kerry dipped his feet back into political waters, saying Tuesday he was not going to alter his critique of the Bush administration’s economic policies despite recent job growth.

“A wage recession is a wage recession,” Kerry said, referring to the generally stagnant state of personal incomes.

He also told reporters on a flight from Washington to Los Angeles: “People not affording healthcare, not affording tuitions, having troubles, are not changed at all by anything that is taking place.”

The presumed Democratic presidential nominee for the most part steered clear of partisan matters during a 20-minute conversation, hewing to his decision to suspend overt politicking this week out of deference to Reagan’s death.

Munching on crackers, he chatted about summer sports and other matters, and responded to a query about the economy and whether he would reframe his criticism because of recent favorable trends.

“Nope,” Kerry said. “Three months of job growth, which is weak at that, doesn’t change four years of our economy nor its fundamental direction.”

Kerry’s comment notwithstanding, relatively steady employment gains began last fall and surged in March, April and May -- about 950,000 jobs were created during that period. Some economists say that by November, the net loss of jobs that has occurred during Bush’s term could be wiped out, potentially undercutting a key Democratic argument against him.

Kerry was at his most expansive when discussing Reagan. After arriving in Los Angeles, he visited the late president’s casket at the Reagan library near Simi Valley. He is scheduled to attend Reagan’s state funeral Friday at the Washington National Cathedral.

“I met with Reagan a lot more than I’ve met with this president,” the Massachusetts senator said on his campaign plane, referring to Bush. He called the former California governor “a very likable guy.”

Kerry recalled that he had his first substantive meeting with Reagan shortly after arriving in the Senate in 1985. He joined congressional leaders at the White House to discuss Reagan’s support for aid to the Nicaraguan Contras. Kerry and other Democrats were hoping to broker a peace agreement between the U.S. and Nicaraguan governments. It didn’t go well.

“He wasn’t thrilled with the proposal because it was contrary to what they wanted to do,” said Kerry, who at the time of the White House gathering had just returned from meeting with top Sandinista officials in Managua.

Kerry emerged as an outspoken critic of the Reagan administration’s role in the Iran-Contra scandal, leading an investigation into the covert assistance given to the Contras. He was also sharply critical of Reagan’s support for the “Star Wars” program.

On Tuesday night, Kerry attended a private screening of a short film by his daughter, Alexandra, who graduates today from the American Film Institute.

Times staff writer Susannah Rosenblatt contributed to this report.