Wilson Tells Bush Campaign to Have President Visit More

Gov. Pete Wilson and his top aides told President Bush’s political advisers during a lengthy strategy session Saturday that Bush needs to spend more time in California and mount an all-out effort there to assure victory in November.

Wilson will chair Bush’s California campaign--a decision reached previously but still not officially announced--and his political operatives will be intimately involved in the race, sources said.

Wilson and six advisers held their first California campaign meeting--a 2 1/2-hour session--with Bush strategists at the President’s reelection headquarters. The governor also met separately with Bush campaign Chairman Robert A. Mosbacher on Friday.

“I think (Bush) is intending to put a great deal of effort into the state,” Wilson told The Times. “I think we’ll see him in California a good deal, and I hope so. The more he’s there, the better people get the feel of him, and I think that’s distinctly to his advantage.

“I think personally he should have spent more time there in the ’88 campaign. No candidate can ever take California for granted.”

In 1988, Bush carried California over Democratic Gov. Michael S. Dukakis of Massachusetts by only three percentage points. And this year, in the midst of a recession, some Republicans are worried that the GOP could lose the state for the first time since 1964.

The California Poll recently found that the majority of Californians it surveyed were not inclined to vote for Bush. A majority also had a negative view of the President’s job performance.

Wilson does not share the gloom and doom of other California Republicans, believing that the President’s fortunes will rebound with the economy. But if the economy does not turn around before the election, Bush must persuade voters that the recession is worldwide and not a product of his Administration, the governor said.

Wilson said that while pollsters find people opposing Bush in the abstract, when he is matched against a specific Democratic candidate the President wins comfortably.

“People are far more harsh and critical when there is not a flesh-and-blood alternative,” the governor said.

“I think the only candidate that George Bush has to fear is the national economy. The economy is bad. It is bad worldwide. We are in the grips of a worldwide recession and people are suffering. And that doesn’t make them very happy. That’s pretty elementary.”

What Wilson insiders described as the “jobs, jobs, jobs” and “get him out to California” messages were delivered privately by the governor at the two strategy sessions.

Bush’s advisers were urged to fly the President to California as often as possible, not just to campaign, but to take advantage of the unique opportunities offered by the Oval Office. Indeed, Bush will fly to San Diego on Wednesday to visit a health care clinic.

The President will return to the state Feb. 25 for the only two Bush fund-raisers scheduled in California during the primary campaign. Organizers hope to raise $1 million at a $1,000-per-plate dinner in Los Angeles and another $600,000 at a $1,000-per-plate luncheon in San Francisco.

Wilson and his aides came away from Saturday’s session feeling that Bush’s advisers had agreed with them that an all-out effort was needed in California, sources said.

California--offering a fifth of the electoral votes needed to win the presidency--is regarded by Bush as one of his top priorities, along with such states as Texas, Florida, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, Wilson was told. It generally was agreed that no Democrat can beat Bush without carrying California.

“If Bush wins California, the race is over,” one meeting participant said.

The Bush and Wilson advisers agreed that the President’s California campaign should be run with all the intensity and organizational support of a gubernatorial race. Wilson’s contingent said it is preferable to name an experienced Californian as the day-to-day campaign manager, but emphasized that the highest priority is to get a savvy politico, even an out-of-stater, if necessary.

Decisions on a campaign manager, headquarters site and budget are expected to be made soon, participants said. There also will be an effort to integrate non-Wilson people into the campaign leadership.

Wilson and his advisers will be spread thin politically this year. They also are deeply involved in three other campaign efforts: the governor’s welfare reform initiative, U.S. Sen. John Seymour’s race and the GOP effort to win control of the state Assembly.

Accompanying Wilson to the session were chief of staff Bob White, longtime political adviser George Gorton, veteran fund-raiser Jack Flanigan, new senior advisers George Dunn and Joe Shumate, and communications aide Dan Schnur.

Heading the Bush contingent were veteran pollster Robert Teeter, campaign manager Fred Malek, longtime political adviser Charles Black and national political director Mary Matalin.