1988 Ad

LEE FEELS A DRAFT

"IF YOU CAN find a better candidate,' the trech-coated symbol of the American Dream says from the TV screen, "vote for him.'

That's what this son of Italian immigrants, crack automotive CEO, inventor of the Mustang, savior of the Statue of Liberty, and best-selling autobiographer will soon be saying if some tenacious Democratic drafters have their way. This hardy band wants to do for Lee Iacocca what Republicans did for non-politician Dwight Eisenhower in 1952. "It's our job to have the American people convince him to run,' says Terry Schmidt, head of the Draft Iacocca Committee.

Washington pundits believe that Schmidt & Co. have their work cut out for them. "Draft days are over,' says an influential liberal Hill Democrat. "This is a wild crapshoot.' The draft team itself is what gives the effort its minimal credibility: Greg Schneiders (former aide to President Carter and to 1984 candidate John Glenn), Terry O'Connell (former DNC political director), David Ifshin (Walter Mondale's chief counsel in 1984), Morley Winograd (party rules expert), Michigan Democratic State Representative Richard Fitzpatrick (originator of the draft idea), and Schmidt (an experienced management expert).

Draft organizers admit their task is formidable, starting with the technical hurdles. "Running for President is professional terrain,' says a Democratic analyst. "You don't just walk in like Willkie and claim popularity.' Just the task of determining how to get lacocca on primary ballots has kept drafters busy considering the options: mounting a write-in campaign; lining up favorite sons to pledge delegates (none contacted so far); using a national surrogate to pledge delegates; and running uncommitted slates. As for budget, the drafters won't do any real fundraising without a nod from Iacocca. To date, they have collected a paltry $30,000, of which $20,000 has been expended on a rules study.

Polls keep lacocca organizers revved up. Metropolitan Detroit magazine, for example, conducted a nationwide crosssectional survey in early summer that showed that if the Chrysler chairman ran for President as a Democrat, he would easily defeat either Vice President George Bush or Congressman Jack Kemp (R., N.Y.). Iacocca also polled much higher than Mario Cuomo, Democratic Governor of New York. Other surveys reveal that an incredible 95 per cent of respondents view Iacocca positively.

Schneiders sums up Iacocca's "unique strengths': 1) Outsiderliness. Both Carter and Reagan ran against Washington. Iacocca is positioned to do the same, writing in his autobiography: "Our national leadership consists of too many lawyers and not enough people from business.' 2) National Mood. Voters in 1988 will be looking for a Reaganesque figure, one who transcends ideology, party, geography. The time will be ripe for aggressive leadership, such as Iacocca displayed both as CEO and as Statue of Liberty rejuvenator. 3) Credibility. Polls show that voters already regard Iacocca as presidential timber, thus putting him beyond most would-be candidates. 4) Demographics. With rapport in the South and a life spent in the Rustbelt, Iacocca also has the Middle American appeal of being a hard-headed businessman. The Chrysler bailout endeared him both to business and to labor, and his dramatic repayment of that loan extended his appeal across the board. 5) Fundraising. The prospects are awesome: a direct-mail solicitation to the two and a half million people who have paid $20 to buy his book, plus the Chrysler dealership network, plus the tens of thousands who have written and urged him to run.

On the minus side, Iacocca has no experience in government or in military affairs. "Polls mean nothing at this point,' says a seasoned Washington political columnist. "It's only name ID. That same Metropolitan Detroit survey showed Teddy Kennedy beating Iacocca in a primary, and Kennedy would bomb in a general election.' Iacocca's non-partisanship also cuts both ways. "When Iacocca holds a fundraiser for Bob Dole and co-chairs Carl Levin's campaign finance committee, he fuzzes his party identification to the point that the spear carriers won't line up behind him.'

Iacocca also has age and issue problems, as some observers see it. "We have to look to the people who are 35 and under,' says Mark Siegel, Democratic Party official and political consultant. "We have to leap the generation gap. Passing the torch to Lee Iacocca is not the right way.' "How will he handle issues that he knows nothing about,' asks a White House insider, "like abortion and AIDS?' All of which leads Vic Gold, columnist and counsel to George Bush, to conclude, "It's one thing to be a CEO. You can pound the table and say, "Do this,' and "Do that.' Politics is quite different.' Despite his towering ego, Iacocca is shrewd enough to recognize this for himself. "I don't have the temperament for politics,' he says.