Jesse Jackson met with Michael Dukakis` campaign chairman Wednesday about the possibility of becoming the Democrats` vice presidential candidate and was urged by leading black congressmen to seek the job.
Speaking at a news conference Wednesday, Jackson said he had met earlier in the day with Paul Brountas, the Massachusetts governor`s campaign chairman, to discuss the possibility of his being on the ticket.
Dukakis, who has enough pledged delegates to win the nomination for president at next month`s Democratic National Convention in Atlanta, has said that Jackson would be considered for the No. 2 spot, along with other Democrats.
Jackson said the meeting was at the request of the Dukakis camp and that no offer was extended to become Dukakis` running mate.
”It was a very meaningful preliminary discussion,” Jackson told reporters.
Jackson again said he had ”earned” consideration for the spot without saying whether he would accept the nomination if offered.
As he continued to be coy with the news media, Jackson began a two-day flurry of meetings in the nation`s capital.
Jackson met with a group of national black leaders, including NAACP Executive Director Benjamin Hooks and National Urban League President John Jacob, Wednesday morning; he had a midday meeting with members of the Congressional Black Caucus; and he met in the afternoon with representatives of the Joint Center for Political Studies, a prominent black think tank.
Mervyn Dymally (D., Calif.), chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, told reporters at the news conference, ”It was the consensus of the members that we ought to urge the reverend to seek the second spot on the ticket.”
Dymally said no formal vote was taken by the caucus and that discussions about Jackson`s being included on the ticket were begun weeks ago without Jackson`s knowledge.
Rep. Gus Savage, a Democrat from Chicago and strong Jackson supporter, rejected the notion that a black candidate on the ticket would automatically spell defeat for the Democrats next fall, and he indicated Dukakis might have a difficult time earning his support without Jackson as his running mate.
Dymally later said that Savage was the only member of the 23-member Congressional Black Caucus who threatened not to campaign for Dukakis if Jackson is not on the ticket.
Jackson aides privately say that though Jackson was initially opposed to taking the No. 2 spot on the ticket, he has since changed his mind.
But, just as he did before he announced his first presidential bid in 1984, Jackson seems to be working behind the scenes to give the impression that the notion of his being on the national ticket is an idea that did not originate with him.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Jackson said: ”I`ve earned the right of serious consideration. Furthermore, there is obvious growing concerns within the country that that serious consideration be translated into being part of that ticket.”
Eighteen members of the Black Caucus met with Jackson on Wednesday, and six joined him at the news conference.
The lawmakers seemed especially sensitive to recent polls that indicated a Dukakis-Jackson team would probably lose in the fall.
”In the last 20 years, with white candidates on the ticket-no blacks on the ticket-Democrats have only held office for four years of the last 20 years,” said Louis Stokes (D., Ohio). ”In the last election, with two whites on the ticket, we lost 49 of the 50 states. Now, we can`t do much worse than that.”
