Campaign Turmoil Apparent in Pennsylvania : Jackson Struggling After N.Y. Loss

In the wake of the New York primary, the Rev. Jesse Jackson and his campaign have been reeling, displaying unaccustomed dispiritedness and scrambling to adjust to the new reality of the Democratic presidential race.

By Friday, Jackson had resumed a public show of bravado, declaring to a rally attended by thousands of students here: “Now there are three--Bush, Dukakis, and me. Here we are. And here we go.”

But with Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis suddenly viewed as the all-but-certain nominee, Jackson has been struggling in private “to find his feet and figure out what it all means,” a key aide said Friday.

Drained of Energy

The inner turmoil of the campaign has been apparent for three days here in a candidate drained of his usually boundless energy and often devoid of the confidence that last week led him to proclaim before roaring crowds: “I want to be your President!”

In fact, it took two days for Jackson again to link the word President to his candidacy, and the phrase was passive and the tone lackluster.

Most advisers to Jackson attributed his lower-key appearance to exhaustion, blaming New York organizers for a 20-hour-a-day schedule they said had overtaxed even Jackson, who is notorious for campaigning late into the night.

“A tired candidate is a bad candidate,” one adviser said.

But others made clear that Jackson had also been rocked by the magnitude of his 14-point defeat in New York, having grown convinced that New York would be nothing like another Wisconsin, where he had lost by 18 points to Dukakis two weeks earlier.

“Obviously we wanted to do better than we did,” said Frank Watkins, Jackson’s political director.

Advised to Evaluate

At least one senior Jackson adviser recommended that the candidate take time off this week to “figure out where he had come from, where he was, where he is, and where he’s going,” a source close to the campaign said.

Jackson moderated his schedule but rejected the advice, continuing to campaign intensively here. But so far the response to his candidacy has done little to boost his spirits. Jackson trails by 30 points in the most recent polls, and crowds have generally been large but relatively quiet, which deprives Jackson of a source of energy that he often draws on during his long campaigning days.

Absent the enthusiasm, Jackson has uncharacteristically drifted in his stump speeches. Three times in five minutes here Friday he repeated, “I don’t want to massage or manage Reaganomics, I want to reverse Reaganomics,” emphasizing his favorite subtle criticism of Dukakis. But he appeared to give the impression that his mind was elsewhere, and some in the audience shook their heads in bewilderment.

Supporters’ Expectations

Generally, Jackson has appeared unsure about what to tell the supporters whose expectations of a Jackson victory had swelled considerably before New York.

At issue, advisers said, is whether Jackson should now redefine victory, aiming at influence in the party rather than triumph at the Democratic National Convention. That would work to dampen his supporters’ expectations, which some advisers fear might lead to hostility and conflict at the convention if they are not fulfilled.

Immediately after his New York defeat, Jackson appeared consciously to be preparing his supporters for eventual disappointment, arguing that his campaign had already been an important victory. “In some ways we are changing the face of America, creating hope for people all over the world,” he said at a Wednesday morning news conference in New York.

But on arrival in Philadelphia he described his campaign in the context of the civil rights marches of the 1960s and urged his followers not to give up hope.

‘We’re Almost There’

“Don’t you be discouraged.” Jackson said. “Hold your head high. Stick your chest out. It won’t be as long as it has been. We’re almost there. You keep on holding on.”

“Let nothing break your spirit,” he said to a dinner attended by black community leaders on Thursday. “We’re not going to be stampeded from the race.”

“We’re running neck and neck,” Jackson insisted all day Friday, sounding self-assured when asked about his race against Dukakis. “I’m a long-distance runner and I’ve got a smooth stride.”