The Grail of the Golden State

The setting was a San Francisco TV studio, and the script called for a debate between Michael Dukakis and Jesse Jackson. But when it was Dukakis' turn for a 60-sec. summary, his first words were "this fall." He all but ignored his Democratic rival, barely mentioned next week's California primary and instead concentrated his fire on George Bush. "Some people want to build missiles," Dukakis declared. "I want to help build young minds." From the U.S. Military Academy on the opposite coast, Bush belabored the Democrats' "liberal elite" for failing to understand that "peace flows from strength." Welcome to the general-election...