Afraid to Put Up His Duke-s

MY first memory of Mike Dukakis was during his declaration of a State of Emergency during the infamous Blizzard of '78. This brave, courageous leader came on television and cancelled school for a week. I was a fan from the start. Since then, Dukakis has done nothing but disappoint.

A local political columnist sarcastically calls him "Michael the Good." Many of his supporters refer to him as "the Duke." If it weren't so shocking it would be almost funny--that this short, homely, boring, geek of a governor named Michael Stanley Dukakis is the front-runner for the Democratic Presidential nomination.

Many students who haven't followed Dukakis throughout his political career probably regard him as a capable, well-respected man. They see him as a governor who has done a good job managing Massachusetts. Don't be fooled.

I don't ask a lot of a candidate. He or she doesn't have to be the most telegenic, the most qualified, or the one with the most money or best organization. All I ask for is commitment and honesty. Despite his well-cultivated image, Mike Dukakis just doesn't measure up--he'll sell his soul to win the White House.

One of the most glaring examples of Dukakis' opportunism and inconsistency is his uneven support of gay and lesbian rights. Throughout his first and most of his second term as governor, Dukakis was widely perceived as being a strong supporter of gay and lesbian issues. During his 1986 bid for reelection, however, the Boston Globe ran a story on two gay men who were foster parents to two young children. Legislative outcry and political pressure soon led Dukakis to formulate a plan making it virtually impossible for gays and lesbians in Massachusetts to be foster parents.

During the 1987 legislative session a Gay Rights Bill--having passed the Massachusetts House--was stalled in a Senate committee and kept from the full body, which was expected to approve it. Although he threw quiet support behind the bill, Dukakis--who was campaigning in Iowa--refused to take an active roll in salvaging it and let it die in committee.

Dukakis has also waffled on AIDS. While the Governor can talk a great game about how educating people is fundamental to halting the spread of AIDS, he gets very squeamish when he realizes how brutally frank education about sexually transmitted diseases must be. Last year, the Massachusetts AIDS Action Committee printed a pamphlet for distribution in gay bars and bookstores. When the pamphlet came to the attention of the state legislature, Dukakis supported criticism of the pamphlet that complained of its explicitness. What Dukakis failed to comprehend is that the pamphlet--which made clear and detailed reference to several gay sex acts--was not meant for elderly women or junior high school students; it was carefully targeted for practicing homosexuals in order to halt the spread of the disease.

Last month, Boston Mayor Raymond Flynn endorsed a proposal to experiment with a clean needle exchange program for intravenous drug addicts. Although the plan fails to address the question of drug abuse, it has proven very successful in Great Britain in combatting the spread of the disease. Dukakis balked at the plan, and--always a man with open mind--said he would refuse to support it, even if it proved successful in Boston. Apparently, the governor is only willing to support an issue when it is: non-controversial, does not require him to act as a leader and does not ask him to explain a complicated issue to a potentially hostile electorate.

Dukakis' record is full of such blemishes:

. When he first ran for Governor in 1974, he made his famous "lead pipe" promise not to raise taxes. During his first administration, he implemented a wonderful device known as a surtax--i.e., a tax on your taxes. During his 1986 campaign for reelection, he conveniently decided to repeal the surtax, which allowed him to claim on the presidential campaign trail that he had cut taxes.

. During the Iowa caucuses, Dukakis aired commercials criticizing the Reagan adminstration for failing to address the problem of homelessness. In the commercial, Dukakis uses an exploitative picture of a homeless person outside the White House. Perhaps Dukakis had been in Iowa so long he had forgotten that his campaign could just have easily used a similar picture outside the State House in Boston.

. In recent weeks Dukakis has criticized some of his opponents for being influenced by the money of political action committees. Dukakis' financial records, however, are far from suspect; his campaign accepts contributions from state contractors and Massachusetts employees.

. Dukakis has always prided himself on being a hands-on manager, yet he has detached himself from his presidential campaign--claiming he had no knowledge of the smear campaign against Joseph Biden mounted by his best friend and campaign manager, John Sasso.

Flip-flopping on the issues and using dirty tricks are nothing new to campaigns. and Massachusetts politics and this presidential election are no exception. In the Democratic field alone, Rep. Richard Gephart and Sen. Albert Gore, Jr. are far worse offenders. But Mike Dukakis, no stranger to accusations of arrogance, likes say he holds himself to a higher standard.

Mike Dukakis is the guy who treks across the country talking about honesty, integrity and responsible leadership. But it's not much more than talk. Mike Dukakis is like the tough little kid in the schoolyard who brags a lot but won't stick around to prove himself in a fight.

Remember that if you support Mike Dukakis because he managed to get a comprehensive health care package through the Massachusetts Legislature. How tough will Dukakis be when he faces the first real Republican opposition of his life in the United States Senate?