Marathon Man

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A different form of bargaining involves power and position rather than issues. During one TV debate last week, when asked about the vice- presidential nomination, Jackson said, "I certainly will have earned serious consideration," although he gave no indication that he wanted it. Then Campaign Manager Austin and Campaign Chairman Willie Brown talked to reporters about the second spot for Jackson as if it were a live option. Dukakis responded the next day by observing that being second banana in the nomination race carries no guaranteed prize.

As conjecture over second place rose to a roar, Jackson realized that it was a damaging distraction as well as a tacit admission that the brass ring was beyond his reach. Dukakis even kidded Jackson Friday night during their first one-on-one debate. When a questioner asked about Jackson's interest in the vice-presidential nomination, Dukakis ostentatiously stage-whispered, "Are you interested? Talk to me later." Jackson responded with a playful elbow jab.

Beneath the banter, both were uneasy over the issue. Jackson's present mission is to win as many delegates as he can, starting this week in Pennsylvania and climaxing in New Jersey and California. Austin calculates that California is the one big arena where Jackson might stage a dramatic upset. Democrats there have a contrarian history of shafting the front runner, and Jackson's operatives were even putting a perverse "win by losing" spin on their situation after New York. "Now it's okay to vote for Jackson, because he's not going to be President," an adviser explained. "It's safe to go after white votes again."

Jackson himself was turning up the pressure in a different manner. With the field reduced to two, sharper comparisons are inevitable. In speeches, Jackson is drawing distinctions in subtle terms. "This is no time for politics as usual," he said in Pennsylvania. "We don't need to massage Reaganomics; we need Jackson action." By inference, he was saying that Dukakis is a masseur whereas he is an orthopedic surgeon who will rearrange the economy's skeleton. In an interview with TIME, Jackson lapsed into the third person: "There will be a lot of comparative analysis between our approaches. Who can excite the crowds? Jackson. Jesse also has a definitive plan and a budget, for fighting drugs, for building housing." That kind of specificity, along with Jackson's dubious claim that his support base is far broader than Dukakis', is also a factor in the public phase of negotiation.

At some point, probably soon after the California primary, the negotiation will have to go private. The high stakes in this chess game will include the Democratic ticket's prospects in the fall and Jackson's future in the party. One can imagine a conversation in which the two fence about how radical or mainstream the platform should be and what Jackson's role will become. Dukakis will hope that his proud companion can settle for influence rather than a specific prize, such as a place on the ticket.