Carter Urges Dukakis, Jackson to Mend Rift : He Calls for Them to Meet Before Convention to Avoid Having Differences Jeopardize Ticket

With tension between Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis and civil rights leader Jesse Jackson continuing to simmer, former President Jimmy Carter called Friday for the two candidates to meet and settle their differences before their disagreements become a major threat to the Democratic ticket in November’s election.

Carter, in an interview with The Times, expressed a willingness to play a peacemaker’s role as Jackson and some party leaders have suggested, but said Dukakis and Jackson themselves are the key to solving the problem and should get together before the convention begins here Monday night.

Urges Dukakis to Reach Out

The former President suggested that Dukakis, who is scheduled to receive the party’s presidential nomination Wednesday night, should be “generous” in reaching out to Jackson, the runner-up, even though Jackson has refused to concede the nomination.

Jackson, his aides and many of his supporters have chafed ever since Tuesday when Dukakis passed him over for a spot on the Democratic ticket and failed to notify him of the selection of Sen. Lloyd Bentsen of Texas as his running mate before Jackson learned of the choice from a reporter. Jackson also has complained that Dukakis rejected his request for a personal meeting and failed to outline a role for him in the fall campaign.

Although Carter and other party leaders have said they remain optimistic that the differences will be resolved, with the convention rapidly approaching, they have become increasingly concerned about the possibility of a serious rift in the party.

Former Democratic Party Chairman John C. White, a Jackson adviser, said the candidates should meet as soon as possible “and certainly before Jesse speaks Tuesday night because his speech could help or hurt the ticket.”

“What I want to see,” said Carter, “is total understanding between Jesse Jackson and Michael Dukakis and compatibility during the convention and alleviation of tension during--and not just after--the convention.”

“I don’t say that Jackson won’t be disruptive at the convention because he’ll certainly pursue his own goals,” Carter said. “But I’m convinced that the convention will heal those kinds of wounds and that Jackson has built up such a tremendous reputation and stature for himself in the political realm that he’s not going to destroy it by pouting or acting as a juvenile, aggrieved person. I just think he’s going to be responsible.” And if the candidates don’t settle their differences before the convention begins, he warned, “there will be successive stories about a rift in the party and that will not be a positive story.”

Carter, interviewed at his presidential library here, disclosed that Jackson telephoned him Thursday and asked that he “orchestrate” a meeting with Dukakis. Carter said he then telephoned Bentsen, who he said would be sensitive to the situation because of his history of dealing with minorities in Texas, and offered to assist in any way he could in clearing up any misunderstandings between the candidates.

Bentsen, he said, told him there would be adequate opportunities for Dukakis and Jackson to meet in Atlanta.

Although no meeting has yet been scheduled, former party chairman White and Bert Lance, a Georgian who advises Jackson and served as Carter’s budget director, have been trying to set up a “unity” session that would include not only the candidates, but Carter, White, Democratic National Chairman Paul G. Kirk Jr. and two former chairmen--Robert S. Strauss and Charles T. Manatt.

Like ‘a Small Convention’

Carter suggested that the plan sounds like “a small convention” and added that “the more people you bring into a matter like this, the less chance there is of a sincere grasp of the issues.”

He suggested the candidates meet “in a quiet, unobtrusive, but sincere way,” and said the session “should be orchestrated by the chairman of the party.”

However, Jackson has been at odds with Kirk, and one of the candidate’s advisers declared: “Jesse won’t deal with Kirk. They’ve been having misunderstandings, talking past each other.”

Kirk, a Bostonian and former aide to Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, was in Boston for Dukakis’ introduction of Bentsen as his running mate. His appearance there reportedly irritated Jackson and his aides.

Carter pointed out that as President he routinely called 15 or 20 black leaders to the White House to discuss major issues and ask for their counsel before he made decisions.

“I think that that’s the kind of relationship that would be very beneficial during the election campaign and during the next Administration,” he said, “and that’s something that’s been totally lacking during the past eight years. That type of relationship needs to be engendered, and I would doubt it would require my involvement except as an adviser.”

Carter said he could understand people in the Dukakis campaign taking the position that Dukakis had won enough delegates to secure the nomination and that therefore Jackson ought to recognize his “supremacy.”

“I would have enjoyed that myself in 1980,” said Carter, laughing and recalling how Kennedy had fought a losing battle for the nomination against him all the way to the convention and then humiliated him by turning his back to Carter and acknowledging cheers from the Massachusetts delegation.

Logical Case Can Backfire

“But that’s not the way politics always works,” Carter continued. The Dukakis forces, he said, could make “a logical case” that the nomination is clinched and that there is no need to reach out to Jackson--”and wind up back in Massachusetts next January instead of Washington and say, ‘we were logical.’ ”

Some Jackson supporters have advanced the theory that Dukakis is following a conscious strategy of dealing with Jackson at arm’s length to curry favor with conservative Democrats who oppose the civil rights leader. But Carter, whose advice has been sought during the campaign by both Dukakis and Jackson, rejects that notion and says he doesn’t believe conservative Democrats would object to “a harmonious relationship” between the two candidates.

The former President declared he could “see the reasons for frustrations” on the part of Jackson and his emotionally charged constituency.

“And Jesse’s not just a lonely person,” he said. “He’s got 7 or 8 million people who think he ought to be treated with extreme respect and sensitivity--maybe more than many people think he deserves.

“But it doesn’t cost anything to be generous. There is no way to challenge the nominee or the President, he is the pre-eminent figure. And he’s in a position to be extremely gracious and generous.”

Encouraged His Bid

Carter praised Dukakis as “a superb candidate,” and said he has known him both personally and as a governor and that after Georgia’s Sen. Sam Nunn withdrew from consideration as a presidential candidate, he met with Dukakis and encouraged him to become a candidate.

He also lauded Dukakis’ choice of Bentsen as a running mate and said he thought it would help the Democratic ticket in Texas and several states in the South.

“I think that of all the choices that Dukakis could make, this has disconcerted the Republicans the most,” Carter said. “Lloyd is an admirable person who is a distinguished and experienced senator. He’s got an outstanding record in economics and foreign policy and dealing with the complex population of Texas. Lloyd is a conservative; it gives balance to the ticket in many ways. It fills in some of the gaps in Dukakis’ experience, some of the gaps that I had when I was nominated.”