The Jackson Problem

By Michael Kramer

"A hustler from Chicago," said George Bush of Jesse Jackson during the campaign. A man not "morally fit to lead the nation," suggested Jackson of Bush.

But there they were last week, exchanging soul shakes. "I represent the loyal opposition," said Jackson. "There will be times when I ask for his suggestions," said Bush. "He has a lot of very good ideas."

Bush also met with Michael Dukakis last week, but the tone was different. Paying a loser's traditional courtesy call, Dukakis was clearly the past. Jackson offered himself as the future, and by treating him almost as an equal, Bush lent cynical credence to the claim. "This is beyond our wildest dreams," gloated a Bush assistant. "Who could ask for a better opening to the '92 re-election effort? Both sides have a vested interest in pumping up Jesse as the Democrats' leader."

But not all sides. As Jackson becomes a Harold Stassen with clout, a good many other Democrats are becoming apoplectic. A second loss, they had hoped, would finish him. But, as Jackson says, "no way I'm going away." So for many Democrats, both black and white, the Jackson factor is becoming the Jackson problem. "What does Jesse want?" 1988's continual refrain, has become "How do we treat him?" a code question for "How do we get rid of Jackson and still retain black support?"

Roughly put, there are two schools of thought. One, articulated by Georgia Senator Sam Nunn, dreams unrealistically of other blacks rising to take Jackson's place. Nunn has no desire to ignore the Democrats' black base. He merely wants to render it less threatening to the white conservatives who have fled to the G.O.P. One way to do that, says Nunn, is to adopt centrist programs that "don't appear to give away the store," a shift that could only succeed with Jackson's concurrence -- as unlikely a prospect as the actual eclipsing of Jackson himself. The Governor of New York champions another idea for dealing with Jackson. "We have to start treating Jesse like everyone else," says Mario Cuomo. "No more condescension. No more double standards. Give him the dignity he demands -- and all the scrutiny we demand of others. Only then can white Democrats legitimately compete for black voters in the primaries and still have their heavy participation in the general election, without which we lose. Only then are you credible when you say, 'We white officeholders are the ones who can actually deliver what Jesse talks about.' "

And only then, adds media man David Garth, can the eventual nominee deny Jackson co-winner status at the national convention. "If you really have treated him like the white candidates," says Garth, "you can then say, 'We beat you fair and square, now get lost.' "

The first test of these competing approaches is under way. Jackson's former top campaign aide, Ron Brown, a Washington lawyer who has also worked for many white Democrats, is expected to run formally for the party's chairmanship. The fact is that Brown wouldn't have a prayer if he hadn't toiled for Jackson at some point. Without that credential, he would have little if any black support. The Nunn camp is unpersuaded. Says Al From, executive director of the Democratic Leadership Council, which Nunn heads: "Ron hitched his wagon to Jesse, and the signal would be that Jackson has taken over the national party. None of the whites we need to win back would believe we were just accommodating a Ron Brown career move."

At least From engages the matter squarely. "Others have taken to the hills," says Brown. "Many of the same white liberals like Ted Kennedy, Bill Bradley and Chris Dodd who praised me for finally signing on with Jesse last May because they said I would be a calm, stabilizing presence have been completely silent. Worse, they are quietly supporting the idea of Paul Kirk's staying on as chairman as a way to stop me -- which, of course, they're too cowardly to say."

Jackson goes further. "They aren't just Jesse-izing Ron," says Jackson. "They're Horton-izing him," a reference to Willie Horton, the furloughed prisoner George Bush used as a club to pummel Dukakis. "Many blacks felt a sense of violation," says Jackson. "Not just because of Bush but because of the way Dukakis ran away from our concerns. But Cuomo is right. Ignore us as the core of your party, and you can forget about winning the presidency."

Where to from here? "If the white Democrats don't come to their senses," says Jackson, "then we're going to have to reconsider our religious loyalty to the party. Bush took me seriously the other day, after Reagan had the unwelcome mat out for eight years. If he acts as well as he talks, then we'll have to re-examine our historical alliances. They're treating Ron Brown shabbily in order to send a signal. Well, I'm sending another signal about taking us for granted. Maybe they'll get the point before they blow another one. If not, maybe we'll just say goodbye."