European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 27, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes David Broder failure to anticipate attack costly to Dukakis two Vars ago this month John Sasso he Able political hardier of Michael s. Dukakis was Sil Ling at lunch in a Liston restaurant running Down the pluses and minuses of a possible presidential candidacy by the governor of Massachusetts. Sasso talked about Dukakis growing National reputation As an innovative state executive who was Deal ing with the challenges of a changing Economy and finding consensus solutions to such nagging prob lems As Job retraining and welfare Reform. Such an approach he said could translate to the National level. But Here were real questions he con ceded whether Dukakis could compete effectively against other democratic contenders while holding Down his Job As governor. And no one could judge in Advance he said How voters across the country would react to he name Dukakis or the notion of having a second generation greek immigrant s son and his jew ish wife As the president and first lady. This reporter suggested there Miguil be another prob Lem bigger than any of those. Wuh so much of the democratic party leadership saying it needed 10 look southward and a bit rightward to regain the support of lost Reagan democrats he largest Barrier might be the Label Massachusetts Liberal Democrat Sasso demurred. Ideology was not a nig problem he said and Dukakis was very much in the Mold of the democrats who were running slate governments All across the land including the deep South and Mountain states where recent democratic presidential candidates had been routed. That has proved to be True in one sense and fatally wrong in another. Dukakis is mainstream in his program proposals. Those he has put Forward on College Loans housing and health care Are Likely to be passed by a democratic Congress in the next four years. Most would be signed by George Bush if he becomes president with inc same enthusiasm presi Dent Reagan showed recently in signing a welfare re form Bill which also bore the imprint of Dukakis thinking. They Are creative solutions to real problems. Hut at the level of symbols and values. Bush has effectively made inc Case that Dukakis is outside the mainstream. And thai As much As the winning personality the vice president displayed in the final debate is Why he stands on the verge of Victory in the 1988 presidential race. By this year Sasso knew that the republicans would Al tempt to paint Dukakis in alien colors on the emotional issues of god Flag and country. After Dukakis had cinched the democratic nomination but before the democratic convention at a Lime when smugness pervaded the Dukakis Headquarters in Boston Sasso told me he was afraid there Are hard times  me was right but he was in exile at the time for his  on the Biden tapes incident. By the time Sasso was recalled to duty the Bush Campaign had done a number on Dukakis using sym Jim Fain Bolic issues such As his veto of a pledge of allegiance Bill prison furlough program and membership in the american civil liberties Union to drive a wedge be tween him and most voters. The Dukakis Campaign s failure to anticipate or answer that attack May Well have Cost the democrats Luicir bust Chance of regaining the White House Why was Dukakis so vulnerable to such an at tack there arc at least three reasons. First he is genuinely uncomfortable showing private emotions on the Public Slage. A Man who shows not the Flicker of Shock or anger at a truly brutal question about inc hypothetical rape and murder of his wife is not a Man who can convey the feelings he undoubtedly has about Flag country or creator. Second on some value questions Dukakis is in fad outside the mainstream. The political culture of Massachusetts is As far left of Center As the political culture of Reagan s Circle of wealthy californians is to the right. The difference is that Reagan always has known he had to defend his world View while Dukakis seemed sublimely confident people would just accept his As Correct. Thai has come across to people As Aito gang and they May not be wrong. Finally the democratic party nominating process encourages inc tendencies of candidates such As Duka Kis to give full vent to their Liberal impulse and values while understating or concealing the conservative instincts they May possess As Dukakis certainly does. Today there Are few democratic politicians who would deny that their ticket would be stronger if Joyd Belsen of Texas were on top and Dukakis were his running mate. But the bin teens of inc democratic party cannot compete effectively in the current nominating system As the senator discovered when he irid in 1976. Exc Cpl for Jimmy Carter the democrats have a history of nominating Liberal candidates who come from Liberal Stales where the Republican opposition is weak. The Hubert Humphreys Waller Mondale and Michael Dukas uses Are skilled in playing to the Liberal constituencies inside their own party. But icy Are vulnerable to value based attacks from conservative republicans. That is Why the democrats Are having so Many unhappy autumn Days. Watington r�1 writer Limo debt plan imperils fragile third world economies Mexico Brazil Argentina and other developing nations arc drowning in debt. Not to worry. The Bush administration will toss them an Anchor. Nicholas Brady Long time chum of the vice president made that Clear in his Maiden speech As Secretary of Treasury. Lie told a joint session of the International monetary fund and world Bank that the . Is wedded to the hard line advocated by former treasury1 Secretary Jim Baker. The Baker plan insists on its ions of flesh. Since Brady also is a protege of Baker Bush s Campaign chairman this came As no Surprise. In ils loan shark approach to a world wide economic problem. Inc . Is severely alone. Brady was Fly specking proposals from Japan and the new if director to Case the debt crisis. West Ger Many France and others had voiced sup port. No one took our Side. Baker unveiled his plan in 1985. It called for commercial Banks and International agencies to make new Loans to debtor countries if they imposed severe austerity measures. The ostensible idea was to promote growth. Actually it was a kiting scheme to carry the banking sys tem until Bank could build enough re serves to cover their worthless Loans. In that sense in worked. The struggling countries of latin America and Africa have used the Loans to pay about half of their interest taking the rest out of the hides of their people. Even the . Recently conceded thai Africa had to have Relief. Despite the pleas of Many . Economists and even some Bankers Baker &. Co. Have been Adaam about latin Loans however. As a result the debts have risen Brazil s from $102 billion in 1983 to Sijo billion in 1987 Mexico a from $98 billion to j106 Bil lion Argentina a from $50 billion to 155 billion. Standards of living have plummeted in All she debtor lands. Inflation is ram Pant As much As 1,000 percent a year in Argentina and Brazil. Suffering is pal Pable. Social and political unrest is brew ing. Adding to the tragedy is the fact Niosi of these countries have their first democratic governments in years. Dicta tors borrowed inc Money with Fawn ing encouragement from our Bankers and officials. Elected politicians Are trying to pay in Back. What that portends Politi Cally is not hard to predict. The Baker plan has an ominous historic parallel. During world War i we Lent huge sums to England and France which they hoped to repay with reparations from Germany. In he postwar chaos none of them was Able to perform. A budget director named Charles Dawes persuaded . Banks to lend All three the Money to run the merry go round. That was the Dawes  when a liquidity crunch came every body defaulted. Most historians View this As a leading cause of the great de pression and world War ii. In the last two years the arc be been a number of innovative suggestions for reducing third world principal and inter est payments from americans As diverse As sen. Bill Bradley d-n.j., and James Robinson chairman of american express. Many have urged Japan to Lead with its impressive financial strength. But the Unini slates itself now the world s largest debtor has been Adamant despite inc fact we have lost exports and jobs because debt Ridden peo Ples no longer can buy our goods. It s a scary situation capable of ripping apart the fragile world Economy roiling the lower half of the hemisphere and destabilizing a neighbor with whom we share a 2,000-Milc Border. Cox Nef Senna