POLITICS 88 : Gore Confident as Poll Puts Him Second in South Today

Tennessee Sen. Albert Gore Jr., citing a new poll showing him on the move, said Monday that after today the Democratic presidential race will be between him and Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis.

And he wasted no time in attacking Dukakis.

A tracking poll of 15 Southern and Border states that will vote today, taken from last Wednesday through Saturday by Mason-Dixon Research, found that Gore had moved into second place to challenge Jesse Jackson, the leader.

Illinois Primary Next

“This is going to boil down to a Gore-Dukakis race,” Gore told reporters, “and, for those who want . . . a new approach to politics rather than the politics of the past, I’m going to be campaigning hard in Illinois next week.” Illinois holds its primary one week from today.

Gore charged that Dukakis represents the traditional liberal wing of the Democratic Party and cannot appeal to conservative Democrats and independent swing voters in November.

Gore hopes to effectively knock Missouri Rep. Richard A. Gephardt out of the race today. His campaign manager, Fred Martin, said: “I think it is safe to say that it will be hard for four candidates to come out of Super Tuesday.”

Martin sees three: Gore and Dukakis plus Jackson, whom traditional analysts do not consider capable of winning the nomination but who intends to campaign to the end.

Tired of Losing

When asked why he thought he would have more appeal than Dukakis in the industrial states that dominate the next phase of the Democratic contest, Gore said:

“I think the Democrats in the Northern industrial states are tired of losing national elections. They know that Mike Dukakis represents the same tired old formula that has led to the loss of 49 of 50 states twice in the last five elections.”

When pressed to explain what was old about the Dukakis approach to governing, Gore singled out foreign policy but could not come up with many examples on the domestic side.

Criticism of Dukakis

Dukakis has been criticized by many of his opponents for having no foreign policy experience and for espousing views that place him with the liberal wing of the party most often associated with George S. McGovern.

On the domestic side, Gore charged that Dukakis failed to recognize that new approaches are needed to deal with what Gore sees as a growing underclass in the country.

Gore charged also that Dukakis was not taken seriously when he proposed reducing the deficit by catching people who cheat on their taxes.

The Gore campaign was charged up on Monday as it flew around the South, mainly to airport press conferences.

Endorsed by Governor

The senator announced that Georgia Gov. Joe Frank Harris and Louisiana Sen. J. Bennett Johnston had endorsed him Monday, following by one day the announcement by Georgia Sen. Sam Nunn that he had cast an absentee ballot for Gore.

The Mason-Dixon Research poll of 1,177 likely voters found Jackson leading as of Saturday, with 24.3%. Gore had moved up from fourth place and was second, with 18.4%, followed by Dukakis, with 17.6%, and Gephardt, with 13.4%.

Today’s sprawling Democratic vote is still considered volatile by political observers. But Gore’s aides are telling him privately that, after a slow start in the South, he has a good chance to win Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, Alabama and Georgia and possibly Oklahoma and North Carolina.