‘Not Satisfied,’ Dukakis Says of Status Quo

In a hotel called Camelot, in a land called Arkansas, Gov. Michael S. Dukakis reached back 28 years Monday to deal with one of the thorniest problems the Democrats face today: prosperity in America.

In language similar to John F. Kennedy’s, the Democratic presidential nominee insisted that he was “not satisfied” with the status quo. And he promised, 13 times in all, to “ask all Americans” for their help fighting drugs, illiteracy and discrimination.

“As President, I’m going to set goals for our country,” he said. “Not goals for our government working alone. I mean goals for our people working together.”

Echoes Kennedy Appeal

It was no coincidence that Dukakis’ appeal to altruism echoed the line from Kennedy’s 1961 inaugural speech: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” New York lawyer Theodore C. Sorensen helped write both speeches.

“That was J.F.K.’s line in 1960: ‘I’m not satisfied,’ ” said Sorensen, who served as Kennedy’s chief counsel and speech writer. “He used it over and over.”

Sorensen, 60, joined Dukakis on a two-day Southern swing, his first campaign trip since he traveled with Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. Two other battle-scarred campaign veterans, Washington lawyers Steven Engelberg and Peter Edelman, also joined the entourage, apparently a result of complaints that Dukakis’ traveling staff was too small and too inexperienced.

Aides said Dukakis’ 40-minute speech was aimed at middle-class voters facing financial pressure. Hoping to blunt Vice President George Bush’s arguments that the nation has undergone a broad economic expansion under GOP leadership, the Democrat argued that the benefits have been uneven, and the future remains ominous.

Speaking to about 500 state political leaders and supporters, Dukakis acknowledged that “on average, things are just fine” for most Americans. Bush, he said, “sees prosperity for some people in America and says that’s good enough. The greatest in our history, he says. But I see a different kind of prosperity.”

Dukakis said he sees “a prosperity” where young couples cannot afford to have children or buy homes. “A prosperity that has left 2.5 million Americans homeless, 25 million adults without the ability to read and write, and 40 million Americans . . . without a dime’s worth of health insurance,” he said.

Dukakis also aimed his appeal at the so-called Reagan Democrats. In Arkansas, at least, they are the voters who elected a Democratic governor, two Democratic senators and a Democratic-controlled state Legislature, but still helped elect Reagan in 1980 and 1984.

‘Would Be a Disaster’

“In their hearts, they know that four more years of Reaganomics would be bad for the country, and that four more years of Reaganomics without Reagan would be a disaster,” Dukakis said.

Dukakis scored his biggest cheers with a populist pitch in a state known for populist politics and progressive government. As President, he said, he would “fight for the average American,” including “those who have no special-interest lobbyists in Washington and no special influence at the bank.”

And the speech had a sharp edge of class consciousness. He blasted Bush’s proposal to cut the top tax rate from 28% to 15% on capital gains, calling it a “$40-billion tax giveaway, almost all of which would go to those making over $200,000 a year. . . . If this was a movie, we’d call it ‘Son of Voodoo.’ ”

Democrats have struggled all year to make a case for change at a time when inflation and unemployment are down, and without appearing to display the pessimism that many voters associated with Jimmy Carter and Walter F. Mondale.

“I don’t think it’s gloom and doom,” Sorensen said in an interview. “We’re saying it’s a great country and a lot of people are living pretty well, but not everyone is and there’s trouble ahead if we don’t fix it.”

‘Harder to Stay Even’

Many in the partisan crowd offered similar sentiments, even before the governor spoke. “Things are good economically, but it’s on borrowed money,” said Robert Akridge, 54, who works to train the disabled. “I’m in the middle class too, and it’s harder to stay even nowadays.”

“We’re ready for a change,” agreed John Dodson, 78, a retired federal worker. “We can’t go on like this.”

With Election Day less than two months away, Dukakis is campaigning mostly in seven “battleground” states: New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Texas and California.

He also has targeted Arkansas, Missouri and Kentucky, border states where polls show the contest is up for grabs. Dukakis will visit Bowling Green, Ky., this morning to announce a national health care proposal.

Although Arkansas has only six electoral votes, it is a bellwether state. Experts say that if a Democrat cannot win here, where unemployment remains 1.8% above the national average, he is unlikely to win anywhere in the South. And winning the election may be impossible without cracking Republican dominance of the South.

Unfamiliar With South

But Dukakis still has a long way to go in cracking Southern culture. When a reporter casually mentioned during a plane ride last Friday that he enjoyed hush puppies, a Southern mainstay made from deep-fried cornmeal, the man from Massachusetts looked perplexed.

“Is that like a popover?” he asked.

Dukakis ended the day by flying to Houston to meet his running mate, Texas Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, and to speak about energy policy at a forum. Dukakis announced support for the first time for the deregulation of natural gas.

“The present system isn’t serving anyone well,” Dukakis said. The oil industry long has favored deregulation. Consumer advocates say it would lead to higher prices. Bush also supports deregulation.

Without changing his position, Dukakis also put a different spin on his frequently stated opposition to oil drilling off California, and off George’s Bank in New England. Bentsen found a gusher-size loophole to explain the policy.

Environmental Considerations

“The truth is Mike Dukakis supports drilling here in the Gulf Coast and wherever environmental considerations are not a problem,” Bentsen said.

In a separate development, campaign officials released results of Dukakis’ biannual health assessment and physical examination on Sept. 10.

The two-page statement, by Dr. Gerald R. Plotkin of the Harvard Community Health Plan’s Wellesley Center, reported Dukakis in “excellent health” after a battery of medical tests.

Plotkin said Dukakis had taken naproxen, an anti-inflammatory, prescription medication, to relieve lower-back pains exacerbated by long plane flights. But Plotkin said tests of the lower spine ruled out a herniated lumbar disc, and that he found “no evidence” of disc diseases.