Reagan: Part Fixer, Part Hatchet Man

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It was the sort of careless quip for which Ronald Reagan has become infamous. But while past remarks about nuking the Soviets or lying to Congress only caused embarrassment for the President, the tasteless wisecrack Reagan delivered last week ignited a minor political storm. At a White House press conference, a reporter working for a journal published by Extremist Lyndon LaRouche asked the President about rumors that Michael Dukakis once sought psychological help. "Look," Reagan replied with a smile, "I'm not going to pick on an invalid."

Although the President feebly apologized for his remark -- "I think I was kidding, but I don't think I should have said what I said" -- the incident gave yet another negative twist to the 1988 campaign. It also suggested that Reagan, unless carefully managed, could wind up hurting Vice President George Bush while trying to help in the fall election. Last week Reagan played politics in dealing with both the defense budget and the plant-closings bill. With Bush trailing by as much as 18 points in the polls, the campaign has plainly turned into a game of hardball, and the G.O.P.'s most seasoned hurler has taken the mound. "Suddenly," said a Dukakis aide, "Reagan has been much more forcefully deployed."

For the past month, the LaRouche cult has been spreading allegations, totally unsubstantiated, that Dukakis received psychiatric treatment for depression after the death of his brother Stelian in 1973 and after his defeat for re-election as Governor in 1978. Most major news organizations refrained from trafficking in the speculation, but the issue was set simmering when Dukakis, citing personal privacy, balked at releasing his medical records. The Bush campaign then pointedly released a statement describing the Vice President's health as "excellent and vigorous." Bush operatives called news organizations, including TIME, to suggest follow-up stories about Dukakis' medical records or his brother's death. But what finally propelled the story onto Page One was Reagan's remark.

At a Boston news conference, Dukakis tried to quash the rumors once and for all. "I've never gotten any professional counseling," the Governor said. "I normally look to my family for support when I need it." Dukakis also seized the opportunity to rise magnanimously above Reagan. "We all occasionally misspeak," he said. "I don't really think the President had to apologize." Gerald Plotkin, Dukakis' doctor since 1971, released a detailed three-page report pronouncing Dukakis "in excellent health and physical shape." Wrote Plotkin: "He has had no psychological symptoms, complaints or treatment." Before the week ended, Dukakis set aside his resistance to releasing medical records and made known everything in Plotkin's file. All that remained unreleased, Plotkin said, were prescriptions.

The controversy highlighted the strange social stigma that is still attached to psychological counseling. After two terrible losses -- first of a brother, then of public office -- it would be understandable if Dukakis felt the need for some professional guidance. Seeking such help might, in fact, be a sign of emotional strength. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, each year 15.5 million American adults visit mental-health-care practitioners; few are invalids.