CAMPAIGN ’88 : Dukakis Is Picture of Health at L.A. Clinic
When Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis and his wife, Kitty, had their blood pressure checked as part of a photo opportunity at a Los Angeles health clinic Saturday, the results confounded conventional perceptions.
The candidate, who is rarely ruffled and has a reputation as a cool technocrat who sets off on vigorous fitness walks whenever he can, came in at 138/82, higher than the normal 120/80.
“There’s steadiness,” Dukakis declared. “It may not be a passionate blood pressure, but it’s steady.” The clinic’s doctor, Pedro Lopez, said later that Dukakis’ mark was at “the high end of normal.”
The more mercurial Kitty Dukakis, however, a cigarette smoker and an infrequent athlete, registered just 118/72. “Amazing,” said Dukakis, who regularly nags his wife about her unhealthful habits.
Dukakis, who supports a system that would guarantee basic health insurance to all Americans, was touring the Arroyo Vista Family Health Center in Highland Park, a clinic that serves 40,000 people a year. He answered questions afterward about health care and other issues in a discussion with about 30 community residents.
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