Steel Workers Cool; Bush Turns Up Heat on Dukakis

After getting a chilly reception from steelworkers, George Bush today ridiculed Democratic rival Michael S. Dukakis for trying to show he is strong on national defense by riding around in a military tank. “You can’t fool the American people,” Bush said.

“The tank did not fit,” the vice president said. “You cannot fool the Soviet leadership by knocking America’s defense for 10 years and then riding around in a tank for 10 minutes.”

Bush fired his latest salvo at Dukakis at a news conference following a campaign appearance at Buckeye Steel Co., where he wooed pro-Reagan Democrats by stressing his opposition to gun control and abortion and his support for prayer in schools and capital punishment.

“I know Middle America,” Bush told the steelworkers, noting that his grandfather, Samuel Prescott Bush, was a founder of Buckeye Steel.

His blue-collar audience gave Bush a cool reception. One Buckeye employee, wearing a Dukakis T-shirt, refused to shake hands with Bush and turned his back as the vice president moved through the crowd.

“Admittedly the applause meter didn’t go off the charts,” Bush said later, “but nor did the boo meter go off the charts.”

At his first news conference in two weeks, Bush acknowledged that some staff members did not want him to meet with reporters and run the risk of diverting attention from his campaign themes.

“It’s not (campaign chairman) Jim Baker,” Bush said. “It’s just some lower level hand-wringers who think I’m going to screw up.”

He said again that he hopes former White House aide Oliver L. North is found innocent of criminal charges stemming from the Iran-Contra affair and tossed a challenge at Dukakis. “You might ask the opponent whether he hopes he’s found guilty or not,” Bush said.