Jackson Gives Detailed Case for No. 2 Spot : But Refuses to State Whether He’d Accept Position if It’s Offered

Jesse Jackson laid out a detailed case today for why he should be offered the vice presidential spot on the Democratic ticket and dismissed others under consideration as “unknown quantities.”

He refused to say whether he will accept the position if it is offered, however.

“No one else has had to pass the same tests,” Jackson told reporters the morning after his Fourth of July meeting with Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis, who is in the process of selecting a running mate.

“I bring the sense of creativity, a new history,” Jackson said.

He refused to say whether he pushed himself for the vice presidential nomination during his dinner meeting with Dukakis and also refused, as he has for two weeks, to make public whether he would accept the No. 2 spot.

But he listed numerous attributes he said made him uniquely qualified among the handful of people being considered to share the ticket with Dukakis, principally his participation in the lengthy primary season, during which he drew nearly 7 million votes.

Gore and Gephart

“The others under consideration are unknown quantities beyond their districts and beyond their home states,” Jackson said.

He was departing for New York this morning but left behind top aides who were to meet with Dukakis campaign aides to discuss convention issues.

Meanwhile, Dukakis slated face-to-face meetings today and Wednesday with three vice presidential prospects, including two former rivals.

Sen. Albert Gore of Tennessee and Rep. Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri, both former presidential candidates who have endorsed Dukakis since dropping out of the race, were to meet with Dukakis late today, sources said, and Rep. Lee H. Hamilton of Indiana will meet with him Wednesday.

Gore was flying to Boston from Tennessee for an evening meeting with Dukakis, said Gore spokesman Mike Kopp. He said the meeting was requested by the Dukakis staff late last week.