But New Yorker Offers No Endorsement of Candidate : Jackson Wins Praise From Gov. Cuomo

The Rev. Jesse Jackson made a pilgrimage to the New York Statehouse Wednesday to meet with New York Gov. Mario M. Cuomo and came away with enough pointed praise to bolster his own subtle but stepped-up criticism of rival presidential contender Michael S. Dukakis.

Cuomo, as expected, offered no endorsement of Jackson, continuing instead his self-styled role of Democratic paterfamilias, in which he has voiced rhetorically powerful but politically empty support for each of the Democrats vying for the nomination.

“I will say about the three candidates . . . every good thing that I can think of,” Cuomo said Wednesday, also making it clear that he will keep critical remarks to himself.

He described Jackson as “a singularly important Democrat” who could win for the party in November, and added: “He is making this race a manifestation of the American idea at its very best.”

Proposals of ‘Substance’

But Cuomo’s kind words for Jackson reiterated a message that Jackson has projected with increasing intensity in the last several days, pointing out that the civil rights leader was offering proposals of “substance” and a budget “with numbers that can be discussed.”

Jackson and his aides have increased their emphasis on their newly fleshed-out budget proposals, arguing--subtly in speeches but explicitly in private--that they are backed by more economic detail than those of Dukakis. Cuomo’s statement, without mentioning names, seemed to imply that Jackson’s rivals ought to provide more substance.

Jackson, regarded as the least likely beneficiary of Cuomo’s support, appeared delighted after the meeting with Cuomo, and was quick to capitalize on the praise.

“We had a most effective meeting with Gov. Cuomo,” he proclaimed at a rally of state office workers minutes later. “And in that meeting he acknowledged the substance of our proposals to rebuild bridges and stop drugs and solve the deficit crisis.”

Paying for Dreams

Stepping up his effort to portray himself as a candidate of substance, Jackson has spoken at length about those three initiatives in almost every speech in the last week, claiming to be “very specific” and suggesting that the other candidates have not shown that they can “pay for their dreams.”

“A President must not only have a resume,” he said at a breakfast here earlier Wednesday. “A President must have addition!”

The Jackson campaign, seeking to fend off criticism that it lacked specificity, last month published an “anti-drug budget” and outlined a plan to use public-employee pension funds to invest in the nation’s infrastructure. It has not published a comprehensive budget proposal but released last week an outline of a budget calling for steep tax hikes for the wealthy and sharp defense cuts to finance increased domestic spending and reduce the budget deficit.

Jackson has steadfastly avoided criticizing his rivals by name, but his top aides began this week to complain privately that Dukakis has not provided the details to lend credibility to a domestic spending agenda he has said he will try to finance by collecting unpaid taxes.

Subtle but Pointed Barbs

And Jackson himself has begun to aim subtle but pointed barbs at Dukakis in his speeches.

“I don’t want to manage Reaganomics and be its tax collector,” he says. “I want to reverse Reaganomics!”

Jackson was also buoyed Wednesday by Cuomo’s recommendation that the Democratic officeholders who will serve as convention “super delegates” not endorse any of the candidates until the primary season is completed.

But the candidate faced renewed criticism for his views on Mideast policy, an issue he has tried to insulate himself from in the New York race.

About two dozen students in a crowd of 1,500 at the State University of New York at Binghamton raised signs assailing Jackson for his 1984 characterization of New York as “Hymietown.”

And in Los Angeles, the Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies issued a statement saying that “Jackson’s presence on a Democratic ticket would be a disaster for American Jews and a catastrophe for the state of Israel.” Center officials said their position was based on a “cumulative record of Jackson’s behavior and rhetoric directed against Israel and Jews over the past decade.”