Jackson Moves Ahead

Since the Michigan caucuses on Saturday, Democratic leaders have stopped asking nervously, “What does Jesse want?” Now the question, with heightened anxiety, is, “What do we do?” The answer is to relax and let the political campaign run its course. Along the way they might pay some close attention to the issues that Jackson is addressing and examine just why he is doing as well as he is.

It took some time, but Jesse Jackson finally established himself as a mainstream Democratic candidate with his stunning victory over Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis in Michigan. Jackson has been talking, and Democrats out in the grass roots have been listening. Many clearly like what they hear. No longer can critics write off Jackson merely as “the black” candidate, for he has drawn significant numbers of non-black voters outside the South and in such diverse states as Iowa, Maine, Alaska and Michigan.

Assessing Jackson’s success is easier for traditional Democratic leaders than dealing with it. New York’s Gov. Mario M. Cuomo put it neatly when he said: “What he has going for him is that he speaks specifically about real problems in a way the other candidates do not. There has to be a why to a campaign. It’s not enough that you’re good-looking and well-organized.”

Democratic leaders should be delighted to have a powerful new force in their midst who clearly is ringing some bells, and trying to do so within the party rules and without being the divisive force that he was in 1984. Among other things, Jackson is pointing out that the so-called economic miracle of the Reagan revolution has left millions of Americans behind. Jackson has pounded home his message poignantly and pungently, as when he says, “It’s not right to invest in paper and wealth and not in people and industry.” Jackson is saying the things that some other Democrats think but are too cautious to say.

This message is not something that Democrats should recoil from. It is the message of Democrats from the time of Franklin D. Roosevelt--the message of equal rights and fairness, of optimism and hope, the message that all Americans should share in economic bounty.

He can’t win, they say, and maybe he can’t. But other Democrats should stop treating Jackson as though he can’t. Treat Jackson like any other candidate. Demand that he explain his positions in more detail perhaps. Complain if he wanders off at times into the realm of demagogy. Hold him to the same standards as anyone else. And respect him for his ability to reach out to millions of disaffected Americans and win their support.