Bush Lacking ‘What It Takes,’ Dukakis Says

A day after Vice President George Bush delivered his strongest attack on him, Democratic presidential nominee Michael S. Dukakis struck back on Friday, charging that Bush “doesn’t have what it takes to lead this country.”

He also accused Bush of dragging his feet on a September debate that would address the object of Bush’s criticism--Dukakis’ views on foreign policy and national security.

“In the last few days things have been getting a little shrill on the Republican side,” Dukakis said at a press conference in Laguna Beach. “If the vice president wants to debate foreign policy issues, I certainly do.”

Refers to Bush’s Charges

He was referring to Bush’s charge Thursday in Texas that Dukakis’ views on foreign policy--including his past support for a nuclear freeze and his opposition to the MX missile--would, in Bush’s words, “make the world not a safer place, but more dangerous.”

The GOP’s expected nominee also accused the Massachusetts governor of having views that repudiate those of two Democratic presidents, Harry S. Truman and John F. Kennedy.

In returning the fire Friday, Dukakis noted that a bipartisan commission has scheduled three presidential debates for the fall, and he charged: “If we are going to start planning for these debates we are going to have to do so now. But for the past six weeks we’ve been unable to get anybody in the Bush campaign to step up and say it’s time to sit down and begin to plan.

Debate on Sept. 14

“We’re talking about a debate in Annapolis on the 14th of September . . . but because I assume both campaigns have to plan their schedules, we’ve got to know now what we’re doing.

“I strongly suggest that since the vice president has expressed considerable interest on the subject that we make the debate on Sept. 14 a debate on foreign policy and national security.”

In challenging Bush, Dukakis was going straight at what many perceive to be his own biggest weakness and Bush’s strength--the issue of Washington and foreign policy experience.

On Thursday, Bush claimed that Dukakis’ views would amount to “unilateral disarmament.” But while Dukakis opposes several weapons programs, such as the MX missile, he repeatedly has said he supports building both the D-5 submarine-launched ballistic missile and the stealth bomber.

Dukakis was also making it clear he will not let a Bush attack go unanswered--a lesson Dukakis has said he learned when he was slow to respond to attacks in the 1978 Massachusetts gubernatorial primary campaign and wound up being turned out of office.

Also Has Harsh Words

On Friday, Dukakis had some harsh words of his own:

“Let me just say that I’ve been very critical of him (Bush), too. Anybody who sits there and does nothing while we trade arms to the Ayatollah, who says he didn’t know that Noriega was running drugs and is a suspected murderer, and who went to the Philippines in the early 1980s and commended Marcos for his commitment to democracy, in my judgment doesn’t have what it takes to lead this country.

“I’ve said that, and he’s free to criticize me, and that’s why it is very important to have a debate on foreign policy, and I hope we can get that debate on Sept. 14.”

Responding to Dukakis’ comments later in the day, Bush said: “I think he’s responding to a direct challenge yesterday to be specific on defense issues. The man has had no experience whatsoever in foreign affairs. . . . I think he is once again obfuscating the facts and going back to point out what he thinks is a negative of the Reagan-Bush Administration.”

Three Debates Proposed

A commission appointed by Democratic National Chairman Paul G. Kirk Jr. and Republican National Committee Chairman Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr. has proposed three presidential debates--Sept. 14 at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis; Sept. 25 at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., and Oct. 27 in Pittsburgh.

But with the nominating conventions dominating the summer, the campaigns have not met to finalize the debates and agree on ground rules. Bush said Friday that he thought it would be “presumptuous” to schedule debates before he formally received the nomination.

Bush campaign spokeswoman Sheila Tate added that Bush has made “absolutely no commitments to sponsorship or to number of debates and will not even think about it until after the convention.” The Republican convention will be held Aug. 15-18 in New Orleans.

Dukakis chose to return Bush’s fire in the Republican stronghold of Orange County, where the ostensible campaign theme Friday was the protection of California’s coastline.

Notes Position Change

The Democrat took delight in noting that Bush only recently changed his position and called for delaying an oil lease sale off Northern California until after the election.

The environment in general and the coastline in particular can be cutting issues in California elections, and Dukakis’ California campaign director, Tony Podesta, said it would be a critical one for Dukakis this time.

In a speech at UCLA Thursday night, Dukakis promised “never to drill in Santa Monica Bay,” a pledge that is more sweeping than residents of the area are accustomed to hearing from politicians.

In Laguna Beach, he said in response to a question that he would drill for oil off the California coast only if the country is “so strapped that there is no alternative. But I don’t think that is ever going to happen.”

Concern About Bentsen

One person in the audience in Laguna Beach expressed concern about Dukakis’ running mate, Texas Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, who is more supportive of offshore oil drilling.

Dukakis replied: “He’s going to be a strong vice president. But he has said that once a President makes a decision, that’s the decision of the Administration. I think I can assure you that we will be marching together.”

California, which has 47 electoral votes, is considered a must-win state by both Bush and Dukakis. It usually votes Republican in presidential races, but Dukakis leads Bush by 52% to 36% in the latest California Poll, conducted in late July.

In choosing Laguna Beach for a campaign stop Friday, Dukakis was in one of the few places in Orange County hospitable to Democratic candidates, and he made the obligatory walk on the beach for the television cameras.

Democratic Sen. Alan Cranston, who won Laguna Beach while losing Orange County in his 1986 reelection, said Friday: “Dukakis will surely lose this county in November. But if he can keep the margins closer the better chance he’ll have of winning the state.”

Large Seattle Crowd

Later in the day, Dukakis flew to Seattle, where he spoke to a large and enthusiastic downtown crowd estimated by Washington Gov. Booth Gardner to be in excess of 12,000 people.

The crowd, which jammed streets in all directions around the city’s Pike Place Market, cheered loudly as Dukakis pledged to protect the Pacific coastline, saying he was not “a George-come-lately” on the issue.

Staff writers Richard C. Paddock and David Lauter in Laguna Beach and John Balzar and Cathleen Decker in Washington contributed to this story.