Pravda Sketch: Dukakis ‘Not Presidential’

The Communist Party newspaper Pravda introduced its readers today to Democratic presidential nominee Michael S. Dukakis, saying he has a good mind but contending his looks “are not presidential.”

Pravda printed a full biography of Dukakis, identifying him as the son of a Greek immigrant who successfully turned around the economy of Massachusetts by cutting the unemployment rate and bringing about prosperity.

“He can bring order to the economy if he gets the presidency,” Pravda said.

But the newspaper, the mouthpiece of the Communist Party, was critical of the Massachusetts governor’s physical appearance.

“His mother says, ‘What you see is what you get.’ But the point is that by his appearance little can be guessed. His looks are not presidential at all. He is of medium height, narrow-shouldered, though his voice is much to his advantage as compared to the rasping voice of (Vice President George) Bush,” Pravda said.

‘Always Self-Assured’

“(Dukakis) is always self-assured when he speaks: Very banal things sound like the greatest revelations. For the sound of justice, it should be mentioned that his intelligence is rather high,” the newspaper said.

Pravda said he had amassed “a small fortune” of $1.5 million but still lives simply.

The newspaper made few comments on his policies, saying only that Dukakis, 54, had denounced the Reagan Administration’s policies in South Africa and Central America and was opposed to the proposed “Star Wars” space-based defense system.

Without comment, Pravda said his campaign had been heavily funded by Jewish activists because he “speaks out for transferring the capital of Israel to Jerusalem.”