Seek to Use President’s Popularity : Bush, White House Plan Reagan’s Campaign Role

SANTA BARBARA — On a dreary day in November, 1960, Dwight D. Eisenhower, feeling emotionally depressed and politically rejected, boarded the Columbine, the forerunner to Air Force One, and headed for a post-election vacation in Augusta, Ga., lamenting to his fellow passengers that he had just suffered “the biggest defeat of my life.”

It was Nov. 9, one day after his vice president of eight years, Richard M. Nixon, had lost the presidency to John F. Kennedy. It was a campaign Eisenhower had refrained from actively joining until late October and then, according to biographer Stephen E. Ambrose, he joined only to draw the spotlight to his own Administration’s record and not to Nixon’s preparation for the presidency.

Twenty-eight years later, the lesson of 1960 has not been lost on the White House of Ronald Reagan or on the campaign advisers to his vice president of eight years, George Bush. They just have not quite figured out how to take advantage of it.

Now that Michael S. Dukakis, the Democratic presidential nominee, has broken camp in Atlanta, White House officials and senior aides in the vice president’s campaign are plotting the President’s role in the final months of the 1988 presidential contest, an election that cannot help but be a referendum on Reagan’s eight years in office.

“The important signal being sent here is the President really wants to sit down and make sure his Administration is doing everything possible to be supportive of the Bush candidacy,” said Craig L. Fuller, the vice president’s chief of staff.

In other words, a favorable political climate--as much as it is controlled by the White House--can be one of Reagan’s chief contributions to the vice president’s campaign. And, one Bush campaign adviser said, the White House is “being very careful . . . to avoid getting out there on politically unwise issues that can rebound to the disadvantage of the party.”

By such thinking, steady economic growth, continued progress in the U.S.-Soviet relationship and avoidance of a drawn-out, acrimonious congressional debate over aid to the Nicaraguan Contras would all boost the Bush effort. Each would be a tangible representation of the “peace and prosperity” thought to be an incumbent party’s best cards.

“Everyone throughout the White House, including the President, realizes . . . the extent (that) decisions can reflect favorably on a Bush candidacy,” said one Bush aide, speaking on condition of anonymity. “There’s a willingness to manage the issues that come in for resolution in a way that is helpful to George Bush.”

Coincidental Bonus Offered

Then there is the exercise of the business of government that happily offers a coincidental political bonus:

--Reagan dispatched Administration officials last week to inspect drought damage in the politically pivotal Midwest. Few would question that the fact-finding team was performing a legitimate mission. Nor can there be much question that a demonstration of concern and compassion could pay political dividends, regardless of the motivation.

--Similarly, Reagan sent the vice president to the United Nations to present the Administration’s case in response to the shooting down of an Iran Air jetliner. The vice president’s mission underscored his own foreign policy experience and, inherently, Dukakis’ limited exposure to global issues.

In the end, the White House and the Bush campaign must walk a fine line:

On the one hand, they must avoid overplaying Reagan’s part to such an extent that the election is seen as a choice between Reagan and Dukakis, or that Reagan-the-natural-campaigner so outclasses Bush that the vice president suffers deeply in the comparison. On the other hand, they must not fail to take advantage of the public’s fondness for the President, and the President’s own desire to campaign full-tilt for Bush.

Reagan Will Campaign

Even now, the Bush organization has been told to expect Reagan to campaign on the road for their candidate at least eight days in September and October, although the total could reach nearly twice that by Election Day. On perhaps three or four occasions, they may appear together. In addition, Reagan is planning to speak at several fund-raising events in late August, when he returns to California for a vacation.

Why such early planning? Presidential political travel entails considerable cost--even a medium-sized rally can come with a price tag of $30,000 when balloons and flags are included, one White House official said, and that cost does not include the hefty bill from the Air Force for flying Air Force One and backup aircraft.

Under federal election laws, all the costs of political trips must be borne by the candidates or political party, so the Bush budget officials have been forewarned.

Preparing for the President’s participation in the Bush campaign calls for the joining of two institutions with the same goal--but not necessarily the same approach.

Take, for instance, the night in May when Reagan, after much to-ing and fro-ing, endorsed his vice president’s quest for the presidency.

Bush Team’s Scenario

This is what the Bush people had in mind: Reagan and Bush, each in black tie, would approach each other with great fanfare from opposite sides of an elaborately decorated convention room to toast each other with champagne before an audience of similarly attired Republican men and begowned Republican women, all financial contributors.

Firmly, Reagan’s representatives told their colleagues from the Bush campaign that this would project the wrong image for a candidate seeking to hold on to the blue-collar Democrats who twice elected Reagan. Their stand was unmistakable: “Tone it down.”

“Sometimes,” said the White House official, who was familiar with the negotiations, “for their own good, we need to say no to them.”

Reagan’s specific assignments in the campaign have yet to be determined and White House officials are reviewing polling data to guide their decisions. Where he can be most effective will depend on a number of factors, including the political strengths and weaknesses of the yet-to-be-chosen Republican vice presidential nominee.

But, one White House official said, it is clear that what Reagan can do is appeal to his core constituency.

Blue-Collar, Ethnic Voters

Such a role would place Reagan in the midst of the blue-collar and ethnic voters that helped cement his victories in 1980 and 1984. Many of them are Democrats, who Republicans believe must be denied to Dukakis to protect Bush’s chances.

Chasing this target, a former presidential assistant said, “would be totally consistent” for the President.

And Reagan will work the critical states of California and Florida to make sure that they and other Western and Southern states do not leave the Republican column.

At the same time, it is Reagan’s job to motivate the conservatives who make up the core of his longtime supporters, to bring them into the camp of active Bush backers.

To that end, he told a group of grass-roots conservative political leaders invited to the White House earlier this month: “This is the kind of man I want to follow me, someone who would (move) our battle forward, who’ll speak our gospel truly and will do the work that is yet to be done.” That man, he said, is George Bush.

Contacts Recently Increased

In recent weeks, representatives of the White House and the vice president’s staff have increased contacts between them in an effort to keep one another informed.

They have avoided personality clashes, although there are “a lot of misgivings” on the part of some presidential aides about the conduct of the Bush campaign, one of the aides said. Still, he said, both camps are “getting along” and “on the surface everyone is friendly.”

Reagan and Bush aides stress the need for each camp to be aware of the activities of the other--so they do not work at cross purposes and, more importantly, so they do not appear to be taking embarrassingly contradictory positions.

“The chief thing is that there be close cooperation. The really important thing is that the candidate have a chance to not be surprised,” said an Administration official close to the Bush camp.

So, about an hour after Adm. William J. Crowe Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, held a Pentagon news conference on July 3 to disclose details of the U.S. warship’s attack on the Iran Air jet, a transcript of the news conference was rushed to Bush, who was on vacation at his summer home in Kennebunkport, Me.

‘Let Each Other Know’

“The main thing is to just let each other know what we’re saying,” White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said.

“There’s always been some coordination” between the Oval Office and the vice president’s office, another senior White House staff member said. “Now, we’re trying to coordinate with the vice president’s people on everything that goes on and be sensitive to the fact that the vice president has other concerns” besides those of the President.

Thus, when a recent Reagan meeting was planned with his Drug Policy Board, which was named to coordinate the government-wide anti-drug campaign, Bush was given a chance in advance to plan his own schedule around the session, so that he would have the opportunity to embrace the panel’s work.

“It’s giving him a heads up,” the official said.

Similarly, when Bush, at the end of June, voiced support for anti-discrimination legislation to protect AIDS patients from bias, the White House--which has not embraced such a measure--was given an early warning. Such a step avoided a potential embarrassment had Reagan indicated strong opposition to such legislation.

Reagan’s Impact Uncertain

When all is said and done, the impact Reagan can have on the voters is uncertain. Indeed, his aggressive campaigning in the 1986 congressional elections failed to protect the Republican majority in the Senate.