Dukakis Attacks Rival on Drug Flow to U.S. : Democrat’s Assaults Taking on New Fervor

Maybe it’s because he’s hoarse. Maybe it’s because he’s got nothing to lose. But, six days before Election Day, Democratic presidential nominee Michael S. Dukakis finally appears to be finding his voice.

After months of wooden, stilted speeches, Dukakis suddenly seems filled with fervor and drive. After months of projecting a frosty demeanor, he suddenly laughs, shouts and even curses, as ever-larger, ever-louder crowds cheer him on.

Dukakis turned on that unlikely power Wednesday at a boisterous Daley Plaza rally in Chicago that police estimated drew 20,000 supporters.

Vows to Cut Aid

Coatless despite the finger-numbing chill, Dukakis slammed his opponent, Republican nominee George Bush and vowed to cut U.S. aid to any nation that does not cooperate with U.S. efforts to reduce drug production and trafficking.

“I’ll be damned if I’ll let those countries send their poison into the United States of America to poison our kids,” Dukakis shouted, using an expletive in public for perhaps the first time.

“Maybe he thinks there are other things more important than the future of our children, more important than the stuff that is pouring into our cities and destroying our families,” Dukakis said of the vice president. “I say you have to draw the line somewhere.”

James Steinberg, a foreign policy adviser, said Dukakis was expressing support for a 1986 law that requires the secretary of state to cut aid to nations that do not cooperate with U.S. anti-drug efforts. He said Dukakis spoke as a response to Bush’s statement Tuesday that he would not “disrupt” foreign relations with major allies like Mexico solely because of drugs.

“We’re just saying he supports the law,” Steinberg said. “And it’s not clear Bush does.”

What is clear, Dukakis said, is the Republicans “have so few heroes themselves” that they claimed last week that if Harry S. Truman were alive, the scrappy Democratic President would vote for the Republican ticket.

“Have they no shame?” Dukakis thundered, as the crowd roared back.

Dukakis poured it on again later before thousands of supporters at the packed David L. Lawrence Convention Center here. Even mentioning Bush’s name drew an angry reply: “No more lies!” the crowd chanted. “No more lies!”

“I’ll say amen to that,” Dukakis replied.

And when the crowd sang “Happy Birthday” (he turns 55 today), Dukakis reminded them with a grin that Greeks celebrate a “name day” for patron saints. “St. Michael’s Day just happens to be on the 8th of November,” he said.

‘Give ‘em Hell, Mike!’

Instead of quieting the noisy crowd, or turning his back, as he usually does, Dukakis then linked arms with his son, John, and daughter, Andrea, and swayed happily as Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror” blared from banks of speakers and cheers of “Give ‘em hell, Mike!” rolled in.

Dukakis has spent weeks now trying to regain momentum, fighting both his opponent and the polls that suggest he has already lost the Nov. 8 election. But even aides note that as the odds have grown longer, Dukakis has gotten hotter on the stump.

From the cotton fields near Fresno to a black church in Detroit, Dukakis has found common ground by pitching class-conscious populism to core Democrats who had detected little warmth in his icy calls for competence.

“If you believe, as we do,” he has told rally after rally, that Americans are entitled to basic health insurance, college education, drug-free schools, legal abortions and a higher minimum wage, “then we’re on your side.”

On Monday, for example, Dukakis appeared flushed with excitement, and he clenched his fist for emphasis, as he addressed an overflow crowd at San Jose State. Thousands cheered and rattled noisemakers as he promised “paycheck justice” to women, and to appoint Supreme Court justices who will keep abortion legal.

“You can see it in his face,” said Paul P. Brountas, Dukakis’ campaign chairman and longtime friend. “He’s really on.”

Mondale Crowds Cited

Big crowds are nothing new as campaigns wind up, even campaigns as brutal and bitter as this year’s. Democratic nominee Walter F. Mondale drew giant crowds in the waning days of his hapless 1984 presidential race. Mondale won 41 million votes and still lost in a landslide.

But campaign spokesman Dayton Duncan, who also traveled with Mondale, said Dukakis’ crowds are different. “First, the race is tighter,” he said. “We’re not just fighting for Minnesota. Secondly, they came to comfort Mondale, to tell him, ‘It’s all right, we understand.’ This time, people are saying, ‘Fight back!’ And we are.’ ”

Duncan agreed that Dukakis is finally connecting with crowds. “He senses he’s in a fight and has sort of stripped everything down to the essence,” he said. “It’s the end of the race, and he’s drawing down to the final reserves.”

Dukakis’ ability to reach a crowd was tested at the end of his day when he arrived in Philadelphia at Martin Luther King Jr. High School for a rally, which was aired nationally by several black-oriented radio and cable television networks.

He was introduced by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who in an uncharacteristically short speech, about 10 minutes, told the cheering crowd that Dukakis has “earned our trust. He will keep hope alive.”

Dukakis, Jackson said, offered “not passion, but priorities.”

Tired and Hoarse

After speaking for about 15 minutes, Dukakis launched into his town meeting style question and answer format. Clearly tired and hoarse, he seemed to be losing the audience until the end when two small black children, twin boys, came down front with a question.

When the first child asked him what plans he had for increasing the number of academically oriented elementary schools, Dukakis said: “I think you just heard from a future President of the United States.”

With his arm around the second child’s shoulder and the crowd cheering, Dukakis talked about the need to expand college opportunity and told the audience that children are “a very, very precious asset.”