The Natural: A Feel for Politics

By Richard Stengel

John Sasso excels at a very simple thing: he listens. He fixes people with a steady gaze and, unlike most political operatives, does not cut them short. It is a disarming trait and not a parlor trick. Sasso actually takes what he hears and factors it into his plans. For he is, above all, a strategist, and any bit of stray information will be used to formulate his design.

Sasso also excels at a very difficult task: he makes Michael Dukakis listen. The Governor has said Sasso, 41, is like a brother to him. The unassuming Sasso is like the outgoing, slightly mischievous kid who takes the edge off his stern, driven older brother. Where Dukakis is stiff and awkward in dealing with people, Sasso is a natural; he puts people at ease. He is Dukakis' emissary to the outside world. For years, politicians, bureaucrats and constituents have all said the same thing, "I can't talk to Dukakis. Let me talk to Sasso."

Blocky and blunt, Sasso is neither intellectual nor especially articulate. He is a coalition builder who knows when and how to compromise. Unlike Dukakis, he reaches out to people, and people respond. He engenders loyalty and returns it. The civic-minded Dukakis sometimes gives the impression that he considers himself too good for politics. "What Sasso brought to Dukakis," says Paul Pezzella, the campaign's Florida director, "was the conviction that good government and good politics are one and the same."

The son of a research engineer, Sasso was raised in East Paterson, N.J. He was an average student and went on to study government at Boston University. After graduating in 1970, he worked first for a real estate firm, then for a construction company. But Sasso was restless. In 1974 he became a volunteer for Gerry Studds' Massachusetts congressional campaign. After Studds won, Sasso became his district manager in New Bedford, where he proved adept at selling a Yale-educated liberal to blue-collar constituents.

In 1978 Governor Dukakis was seeking renomination, and Sasso was supervising a statewide amendment against raising the tax rates of residential properties. Sasso won, Dukakis lost. They met shortly afterward. Sasso was impressed, and they stayed in touch. In 1980 Sasso helped organize Ted Kennedy's challenge against Jimmy Carter and was an effective Kennedy field director in Iowa and New Jersey. Sasso then signed on for Dukakis' 1982 comeback attempt, helping create Mike II, the newly mellowed conciliator. Notes Alan Baron, a longtime Democratic strategist: "Sasso can deal with people who really dislike Dukakis." Sasso became the Governor's chief secretary, taking time off in 1984 to manage Geraldine Ferraro's ill-starred vice-presidential campaign. In Boston he used his rapport with local officials and his ability to muster a consensus to push Dukakis' legislative agenda.

He also stoked the Governor's presidential ambitions, persuading him in 1986 to make the race and drafting a comprehensive plan, complete with themes -- good jobs at good wages, the Massachusetts Miracle -- that would steer Dukakis through the primaries. When Sasso resigned a year ago -- for not telling Dukakis that he had been responsible for sending reporters an attack video against Joe Biden -- even Dukakis underestimated how crippling the loss would be. The primary campaign, after a three-week dip, chugged along according to Sasso's old game plan. It was as if the Celtics had lost Larry Bird for the season but went on winning for a while purely out of habit.

Devastated, Sasso took a job working for Boston's largest advertising agency, Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos. He found the sidelines frustrating. He and Dukakis stayed in touch, but mainly as friends. After the convention, Sasso saw that something was missing: no one was crafting new themes to extend the basic message of the primary campaign. Still, Sasso kept his own counsel. Dukakis does not like asking for favors or admitting mistakes. So when he finally invited Sasso back, just before Labor Day, it was because the candidate had no choice: the campaign was in trouble, and only Sasso could fix it.

For all his bonhomie, Sasso does not give much away. He is a crafty poker player. Since his return, he has played his cards close to his vest, yet has brought a sense of direction and hope to a wayward campaign. Though outwardly very different, Dukakis and Sasso share a sense of discipline and a respect for what works. Sasso is imparting both to the campaign. He is tightening the organization with the same meticulous care he uses to arrange the notes and message slips that pile up on his desk.

With reporting by Robert Ajemian/Boston