For the Record

The spotlight turned to 1988 last week as George Bush officially entered presidential race (former Reagan speech-writer Peggy Noonan helped craft his announcement) despite which New York Times carried bulk of story on page 33, confining page 1 coverage to pix. . . . New York Daily News headline was: bush out to emulate van buren (Martin Van Buren was last Veep to succeed to Presidency, in 1836). Bush got immediate endorsement of Illinois Gov. James Thompson, but story was overshadowed by word that Labor Sec. William Brock was resigning to run Robert Dole campaign. Dole also got official backing of New Hampshire Sen. Warren Rudman, though Sen. Gordon Humphrey backs Kemp and Gov. John Sununu is for Bush. . . . Still, recent Atlantic Constitution poll in 12 Southern states shows Bush leading handily in region, with 46 per cent support to 19 for Dole. . . . In face-to-face matchups (ABC/Washington Post) both Dole and Bush show up well against Democratic front-runners. It’s Bush 61 per cent to Dukakis 29; Bush 63 to Jackson 28. It’s Dole 60 per cent to Dukakis 27, and Dole 63 to Jack-son 28. . . . Same poll came up with this interesting datum: In June, by a 48 per cent to 35 per cent plurality, voters favored a Democratic President in ’88; by September, figures had changed: a Republican was preferred, 44 to 40 per cent. . . . Jack Kemp, meanwhile, took stage center with dramatic announcement that he would spend $50,000 in campaign funds to run four 30-second pro-Robert Bork ads on CNN. “Kemp,” says his press secretary John Buckley, “was personally outraged by the way Bork has been lynched.” If he should become President and have opportunity to do so, Kemp says, he will nominate Bork again.

Democrats continue to have problems: Atlanta Constitution poll of 12 Southern states shows “Don’t know,” at 29 per cent, still leading (to question: What Democrat do you prefer in ’88?). Jackson places second, 27 per cent, Albert Gore third, 13 per cent. No other Democrat is in double digits. . . . More Americans, according to L. A. Times, have a favorable view of Mikhail Gorbachev than of Democratic candidates. . . . In New York, Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan suggests Mario Cuomo, Sen. Bill Bradley, and either Gov. William O’Neill or Sen. Christopher Dodd (of Conn.) should run as favorite sons to keep race open until the Atlanta convention. . . . Dukakis seems to have survived the Biden plagiarism tape episode, but his campaign has been badly hurt by forced resignation of campaign manager John Sasso. His departure leaves the campaign like a “tent without a pole,” says U. of Mass. professor Ralph Whitehead, a former Dukakis advisor. . . . Sen. Gore, striving to draw a line between himself and his rivals, has come out in support of strong defense, Grenada, Libya, etc. In another area Gore is less bellicose than fellow candidates. To Ted Koppel question: Should U.S. eventually support opposition forces in South Africa with arms? Richard Gephardt replied: “I can see a situation when that might be something we might get ourselves involved in.” Dukakis could not “rule [it] out completely,” Jackson saw it only as “a last resort.” To Gore, it was “simply not on the agenda.”

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Presidential Election

The spotlight turned to 1988 last week as George Bush officially entered presidential race (former Reagan speech-writer Peggy Noonan helped craft his announcement) despite which New York Times carried bulk of story on page 33, confining page 1 coverage to pix. . . . New York Daily News headline was: bush out to emulate van buren (Martin Van Buren was last Veep to succeed to Presidency, in 1836). Bush got immediate endorsement of Illinois Gov. James Thompson, but story was overshadowed by word that Labor Sec. William Brock was resigning to run Robert Dole campaign. Dole also got official backing of New Hampshire Sen. Warren Rudman, though Sen. Gordon Humphrey backs Kemp and Gov. John Sununu is for Bush. . . . Still, recent Atlantic Constitution poll in 12 Southern states shows Bush leading handily in region, with 46 per cent support to 19 for Dole. . . . In face-to-face matchups (ABC/Washington Post) both Dole and Bush show up well against Democratic front-runners. It’s Bush 61 per cent to Dukakis 29; Bush 63 to Jackson 28. It’s Dole 60 per cent to Dukakis 27, and Dole 63 to Jack-son 28. . . . Same poll came up with this interesting datum: In June, by a 48 per cent to 35 per cent plurality, voters favored a Democratic President in ’88; by September, figures had changed: a Republican was preferred, 44 to 40 per cent. . . . Jack Kemp, meanwhile, took stage center with dramatic announcement that he would spend $50,000 in campaign funds to run four 30-second pro-Robert Bork ads on CNN. “Kemp,” says his press secretary John Buckley, “was personally outraged by the way Bork has been lynched.” If he should become President and have opportunity to do so, Kemp says, he will nominate Bork again.

Democrats continue to have problems: Atlanta Constitution poll of 12 Southern states shows “Don’t know,” at 29 per cent, still leading (to question: What Democrat do you prefer in ’88?). Jackson places second, 27 per cent, Albert Gore third, 13 per cent. No other Democrat is in double digits. . . . More Americans, according to L. A. Times, have a favorable view of Mikhail Gorbachev than of Democratic candidates. . . . In New York, Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan suggests Mario Cuomo, Sen. Bill Bradley, and either Gov. William O’Neill or Sen. Christopher Dodd (of Conn.) should run as favorite sons to keep race open until the Atlanta convention. . . . Dukakis seems to have survived the Biden plagiarism tape episode, but his campaign has been badly hurt by forced resignation of campaign manager John Sasso. His departure leaves the campaign like a “tent without a pole,” says U. of Mass. professor Ralph Whitehead, a former Dukakis advisor. . . . Sen. Gore, striving to draw a line between himself and his rivals, has come out in support of strong defense, Grenada, Libya, etc. In another area Gore is less bellicose than fellow candidates. To Ted Koppel question: Should U.S. eventually support opposition forces in South Africa with arms? Richard Gephardt replied: “I can see a situation when that might be something we might get ourselves involved in.” Dukakis could not “rule [it] out completely,” Jackson saw it only as “a last resort.” To Gore, it was “simply not on the agenda.”