COMMENTARY / EXCERPTS : In ‘88, Victory Will Be Thrill Enough

“This truly is a politics of inclusion,” Sen. Lloyd Bentsen said in commenting on the truce that was declared between Michael Dukakis and Jesse Jackson. But it may also be the politics of exclusion.

Dukakis is trying to build what he called a “viable, broad-based coalition” that includes two target groups--black voters and Reagan Democrats. Dukakis needs both of these constituencies to win the election. The problem is that blacks and Reagan Democrats are divided on one issue. It happens to be the very issue that Dukakis must resolve--the role of Jesse Jackson.

If Dukakis goes too far in “including” Jackson, he may end up “excluding” Reagan Democrats. That is why he and Bentsen were so cautious and evasive in defining Jackson’s role.

They were trying to mollify Jackson without doing anything that might give the Republicans an opening to argue, “A vote for Dukakis is a vote for Jackson.”