Dukakis Tours Fire Scene; Bush Scorns Economic ‘Mirage’

Michael S. Dukakis and George Bush trudged today through the West, where the Democratic governor--in stops designed more for pictures than policy--showed concern over the region’s wildfires and the Republican vice president charged the economic recovery of Massachusetts was a fraud.

Dukakis put in a day heavy on photo opportunities as he visited Yellowstone National Park in Montana to survey the damage caused by the wildfires that have roared through the region.

However, while the governor wanted to show concern for the damage and support for the firefighters, aides said he was not likely any time soon to take a stand on what has become the most controversial political aspect of the fires--the 16-year-old federal “let-burn” policy of allowing natural wildfires to burn unless they threaten people or property.

Late Decision Criticized

The Administration decided in July to begin to battle the blazes and Wyoming’s two Republican senators, Malcolm Wallop and Alan K. Simpson, have been critical of the time it took before that decision was made.

However, environmental groups have generally been supportive of the original policy and the Administration’s decision to fight the fires when it did.

With no general agreement about what path to pursue in the future, Dukakis appeared to be playing it safe today, making himself seem concerned about the fires without entering the fray over the policy.

Dukakis spokesman Dayton Duncan, asked before the visit what Dukakis wanted to accomplish, said: “Show our concern and to do what Presidents do.”

Mirage, Not Miracle

Bush, in a speech in San Francisco, hit Dukakis for raising taxes in his home state and poked fun at the so-called Massachusetts Miracle, dubbing it the “Massachusetts Mirage” and contending the state was “approaching a fiscal fiasco that might best be described as a budgetary Three Mile Island . . . facing a budgetary meltdown.”

“No question, Massachusetts did benefit dramatically from the national recovery, but there is no Massachusetts Miracle,” Bush contended. “If there’s any miracle, it’s that Massachusetts did so poorly in an era of unprecedented nationwide growth, while huge defense dollars were being pumped into that state.”

Admits Record Faulty

Bush, who later took questions from high school students in Concord, Calif., before heading east to wrap up a five-day campaign swing on Friday, conceded that the Reagan-Bush Administration’s own fiscal record, reflected in the huge federal deficit, could be improved.

But, like Reagan, he placed most of the blame on Democrats in Congress and, turning his focus on Dukakis, argued that under the governor, taxes in Massachusetts had increased more than in any other state, at the same time the state acquired a $7.4-billion debt.

“Under my opponent, Massachusetts has lost 26,000 jobs since 1983,” Bush argued. “More than any other state in the country. He is one of the biggest job losers in America--quite different from the claim of a ‘miracle.’ ”