Candidates Trade Barbs on Economics

George Bush pocketed a labor endorsement yesterday and said his drive for the White House was "all about creating jobs and opportunity." Underdog Michael Dukakis retorted that Bush's plan to slash the capital gains tax was a treat for the rich "and a trick for the rest of us."

The pollsters' daily tidings showed Bush still ahead by 51-42 in a nationwide survey taken for NBC and the Wall Street Journal. New polls also showed a tight race in New York, one of the country's most Democratic bastions.

Dukakis made his way toward Harry Truman's home town of Independence, Mo., and likened himself to the "feisty little guy" who won the White House four decades ago in a storied upset. "Harry Truman was a fighter and so am I," he said. "My friends, this election is up for grabs."

Both candidates also filed reports with the federal government yesterday showing huge war chests going into the final few days of the election. Each candidate received $46.1 million in federal subsidies for the fall campaign, and as of last week, Bush had $14.3 remaining while Dukakis had a balance of nearly $19.9 million.

The Republican vice president continued his week-long emphasis on economic issues as he made his way down the Pacific Coast from Washington to California. Along the way he accused Dukakis of trying to "fan the flames of protectionism" in comments on trade and of "trying to scare the American people by putting Japanese flags on these American commercials of his."

Bush won the endorsement of the 50,000-member Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association at a rally interrupted by protesters. Four were hustled away, including one whose nose was bloodied, and Bush paused in his speech long enough to remind them of the high interest rates that prevailed at the end of the Carter administration.

"This election is all about creating jobs and opportunity," he said, promising to keep the economic expansion alive.

He briefly added an endorsement from the Columbus, Ohio, NAACP to his union support, but that was before the group's president reluctantly reversed course under pressure from national headquarters. Melanie J. Mitchell said she was acting to avoid jeopardizing the chapter's tax-exempt status as a non-profit organization.

The nine-point lead found for Bush in the NBC-Wall Street Journal poll was in keeping with what sources said were private soundings taken for the two candidates. Only 35 percent of those reponding to the public survey said they were pleased with their choices, and 61 percent said they wished other candidates were running. The survey, of 1285 likely voters, had a margin of error of three percentage points.

Dukakis' campaign announced it would double its budget for advertisements targeted at Hispanic voters to $1 million, with most of the money earmarked for seven key states--Texas, California, New Mexico, Colorado, Illinois, New York and New Jersey. The announcement came the same day that radio stations began carrying paid Democratic commercials in which Jesse Jackson urged a vote for Dukakis. days before the election.

President Reagan hailed "the true grit of George Bush and Dan Quayle" as he embarked on a week-long campaign swing aiming to help make sure the White House stays in Republican hands.

"You and I and George Bush worked much too hard to cut your taxes to let our opponents come into office and raise them all over again," he said in Little Rock, Ark.

GOP vice presidential candidate Dan Quayle was in North Carolina, where he renewed his pledge to assure college opportunity for all who want it. But he offered no specifics, saying he had spoken with Bush "about education issues in general" but they "haven't sat down and discussed detailed proposals."