Also Nearing Maximum War Chest : ‘Now, It’s Fun’ for Dukakis as He Dominates the Polls

VISALIA, Calif. — Shortly before Michael S. Dukakis’ charter jet roared into San Francisco on Wednesday, a reporter asked if he was ready for the night’s debate against rival Democratic presidential candidate Jesse Jackson.

Dukakis, his jacket off and red tie uncharacteristically loose and rumpled, paused and then grinned in the aisle. “Now, it’s fun,” he said.

Although few would describe the button-down, gray-suited Dukakis as laid-back and fun-loving, he campaigned Thursday across California with the upbeat, confident air of a man with his mind on the future.

Nomination Seems Certain

He has good reason. Dukakis dominates state and national polls, and his nomination is virtually assured after the California and New Jersey primaries on June 7.

Moreover, the candidate who has broken Democratic Party records for raising money is set to shatter another: He is only a few days and about $200,000 away from raising the maximum amount of money, $19.5 million, legally allowed for the primary campaign season.

The campaign already is preparing to give fund-raising a major emphasis at the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta, to help raise “tens of millions of dollars” for the expected fall campaign against Vice President George Bush, according to Kristin Demong, Dukakis’ national finance director.

General election campaigns are financed by the federal government, but the parties are permitted to raise and spend a limited amount of money of their own to provide organizational support.

More Money Needed

“Our goal is to put the governor on a level playing field,” Demong said in a telephone interview from Boston. “That means significantly more money than was necessary in the primary campaign.”

She said all 900 members of Dukakis’ national finance committee, as well as other well-heeled supporters, will be invited to thank-you parties and strategy sessions at the July 18-21 convention.

Dukakis has issued another set of invitations that should help him as well. On Monday, he will finally face widespread complaints about ignoring the black community all year by meeting with more than 60 black leaders, activists and businessmen from around the country in his Boston office.

“It’s the first major meeting,” said Christopher Edley Jr., Dukakis’ issues director and highest-ranking black aide. “It’s taking stock, saying here’s where we are, here’s where we’re going.”

And, although Dukakis insists that he has not given “two minutes” of thought to choosing a running mate, others have. Edley, for example, said he recently advised campaign chairman Paul Brountas to seek “discreet help, not from people in the campaign,” in preparing background memos on policy positions and voting records of potential candidates. Edley refused to identify whom he had in mind.

Poll on Running Mate

Edley said he expected the campaign to poll voters about possible running mates before Dukakis makes his decision.

But, in campaigning Thursday, Dukakis had more immediate concerns. He fielded phone calls on two radio call-in shows in San Francisco, met with local fund-raisers and then sat through nine satellite TV interviews.

Then, he drove to Palo Alto, where he and his wife, Kitty, cooed and cuddled--but did not kiss--a gaggle of squirming Silicon Valley toddlers at the Syntex Corp. day-care center. More than 100 photographers, TV crew members and reporters jostled behind a yellow police line to record the scene.

“We don’t kiss babies,” one adviser noted dryly. “He doesn’t like it. They probably don’t like it, either.”

Later, Dukakis spoke about economic policy and education to more than 1,000 people at the headquarters of Syntex, a health care and pharmaceuticals company. He read a speech that paid homage to California’s growing Asian-American population by repeatedly praising Japanese science and engineering.

When asked about the references, foreign policy adviser Jim Steinberg said that Dukakis “sees Japan as clearly the model of our toughest economic competitor. He says: ‘Let’s look at what they’ve done and why.’ ”