CAMPAIGN ’88 : Dukakis Homes In on Procurement Scandal

Democratic presidential nominee Michael S. Dukakis, introducing the military procurement scandal as a campaign issue, criticized the Reagan Administration’s management policies Friday and said that if he is elected, “we’re not going to surrender our national security to greed and corruption.”

“We’re not going to use our defense dollars to line the pockets of Washington consultants,” the Massachusetts governor said while campaigning in Flint, Mich.

Dukakis, speaking to about 500 people outside a General Motors plant, cited the report of the commission on procurement headed by industrialist David Packard, a former undersecretary of defense. He said the report shows the Reagan Administration helped create a climate in which “honest and efficient military acquisition is impossible.”

In his visit to the state where he suffered the worst embarrassment of his primary campaign, Dukakis visited the auto plant to underscore his pledge to work for “full employment” and his call for private and government investment in the modernizing of industry and support of new jobs.