Dukakis Takes Swipe at Bush on Ethics Office
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SECAUCUS, N.J. — Democrat Michael S. Dukakis renewed his criticism of Vice President George Bush today for not calling for the resignation of Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III, and he declared, “In a Dukakis White House, the ethics office will be in the Oval Office, not someplace down the hall.”
Bush said on Tuesday that he would create a White House ethics office headed by a senior counselor, complementing the current Office of Government Ethics.
Meese has said he will soon leave his post as attorney general, but Dukakis said in a campaign speech that Bush should have been calling for Meese’s ouster last spring after top Justice Department officials resigned.
Dukakis, the Democratic presidential nominee, said he would not tolerate ethical improprieties in his Administration if he is elected.
“If you accept the privilege of public service, you had better understand the responsibility of public service,” he said.
Opens 7-State Swing
Dukakis launched a seven-state presidential campaign swing today after spending three days tending to his duties as Massachusetts governor--including signing off on the final piece of a plan to balance his fiscal 1988 state budget.
After New Jersey, Dukakis was heading to Cleveland and then to Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois and Kentucky on Friday and North Carolina on Saturday.
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