July 4th Event Seeks to Generate Good Will for Democrats : Dukakis Invites Jacksons to Have Dinner

Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis has invited the Rev. Jesse Jackson and his wife, Jacqueline, to dinner at his home in Brookline, Mass., on Monday in a move that could help smooth the way for an announcement that Dukakis will soon choose someone other than Jackson as his running mate on the Democratic presidential ticket.

“The governor and Mrs. (Kitty) Dukakis will have dinner with the Jacksons in their home. It will be a nice time,” said Dukakis adviser Nick Mitropoulos.

Mitropoulos also said the Jacksons would go with the Dukakises to the traditional July Fourth outdoor concert put on by the Boston Pops Orchestra.

The symbolic impact of the likely Democratic nominee and the civil rights activist spending Independence Day together is designed to generate good will for the Democrats as they prepare for their national convention in Atlanta two weeks later.

‘Time to Talk Alone’

“They should have some time to talk alone Monday,” Mitropoulos said of Dukakis and Jackson, who recently met in California to discuss the selection process for a vice presidential nominee.

Dukakis has said that Jackson, who finished second to him in the Democratic primaries, is one of the people he is considering for vice president.

But few political professionals expect him to choose Jackson because of Jackson’s lack of experience in government and his continuing negatives among some white voters.

Still, the governor, who avoided attacking Jackson in the primaries and has praised him numerous times, needs to seek Jackson’s enthusiastic support for the Democratic ticket. The Monday dinner is seen as a step in that process.

Midwest Campaign Swing

Dukakis, meanwhile, is in the middle of a campaign swing in the Midwest that has taken him to a farm that has not been hit hard by the drought; a factory that is running at full capacity; an employer who has put in a day-care center for employees.

What is striking about these stops is that they are not examples of distress in the Reagan-Bush Administration.

Instead, they provide upbeat settings for Dukakis speeches that are designed to reassure average families about the future.

“These are not meant to be negative events about the Reagan years,” said Dukakis Press Secretary Dayton Duncan. “Dukakis recognizes that things are going well for some families but he also knows that many of them are uncertain about the future, economically.”

Concern Over Drought

Late Wednesday, Dukakis visited a farm near Des Moines to demonstrate his concern over the drought that is choking much of the Midwest.

But the corn on this farm was seven feet tall and a lush green thanks to recent rains. This led to some joking by farmers who showed up for the event.

“This may be the best looking corn field in Iowa,” said Bob Heller, laughing. “They ought to come down to where I live. Most of our crops are about on the last leg, it’s so dry.”

But Rep. Dave R. Nagle (D-Iowa) defended the choice of the farm as a site for the Dukakis remarks on the drought.

A Crowded Schedule

“I did not recommend to the Dukakis campaign that we go out and drag some poor guy in front of the TV cameras who has lost everything to the drought. You don’t have to do that to demonstrate concern.”

The site was probably also picked because its proximity to the Des Moines airport fit in with the crowded Dukakis schedule.

But the Massachusetts governor used it to try to get some dirt on his wing-tip shoes and reach out to the farmers.

“If we ever needed reminding of how important farm families are to all of us, we are being reminded of that now,” Dukakis said, urging faster action by the Reagan Administration to provide financial relief for drought-plagued farmers.

In McCook, Ill., on Thursday, Dukakis toured and spoke at a Reynolds Aluminum plant that is prospering--although with a reduced work force, a fact that several union members complained about.

Stronger Trade Bill

Dukakis called for stronger trade legislation to help U.S. exports and for a law that would require employers to give workers 60-days’ notice when they are going to shut down a plant.

President Reagan recently vetoed a trade bill that contained the plant closing clause and Vice President George Bush, the likely GOP presidential nominee, backed him up.

Dukakis also hit the family theme again, telling the approximately 200 workers who listened to his speech that families are the backbone of a stable society and that they need to know that the federal government cares about them.

This tactic is designed to contrast Dukakis with Bush, who one Democrat on this trip said is viewed suspiciously by average folk in the Midwest.

Dukakis also visited a hospital in Detroit to praise the day-care center installed for employees, paid for with a combination of employee and employer contributions.

Noting that both parents work today in many households, Dukakis said: “If we are serious about creating opportunity for all our citizens, then quality child care is a must.”