Sen. Harkin Offers Revived New Frontier : Politics: The Iowa Democrat says he could overcome recognition problems if he ran for President.

If the prospective presidential campaign of Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa were a movie, it might be titled “Abe Lincoln Meets Harry Truman in Camelot.” But would it sell to California voters?

Sure, Harkin said Friday.

“I think that among Californians, as well as the rest of the nation, there is a sense that we are going in the wrong direction, that we ought to be taking care of our country instead of flying all over the world worrying about everybody else,” he told political reporters at a Los Angeles breakfast meeting.

The fact that President George Bush was stopping off in Washington on Friday between last week’s trip to the Balkans and next week’s journey to the Ukraine was not lost on the Iowa Democrat.

Although Harkin has been in Congress--first as a U.S. representative and then as a senator--since 1975, he admitted that his level of recognition in California amounts to “Tom Who?”

But Harkin insisted that it would not take long to gain the visibility he needs to become a serious contender if he decides to formally enter the contest for the Democratic presidential nomination. Harkin said he will discuss his possible candidacy with his family during an August vacation and announce a decision in early September.

“I feel the kinds of things I’ll be talking about and the way I’ll be talking about them will have more appeal to Californians than they (those of other candidates) will,” he said.

Harkin is talking a recycled version of John F. Kennedy’s New Frontier. His lanky, down-home Populist style is reminiscent of Lincoln and sprinkled with the “hells” and “damns” of Truman. Harkin also compares his feisty style to that of Truman.

Harkin said the mood of the United States is similar to that of the late 1950s: ready for a dose of vision, challenge and old-fashioned values from its leaders. The ship of state, Harkin said, needs to move forward after the 1980s decade of “greed and selfishness.”

Listing a number of problems with the nation’s system of public works, Harkin said in each case, “We can do better than that. . . . They (the people) need to be challenged again, like John F. Kennedy challenged them.”