Michael Dukakis was back in his home base of Boston today, ready for a final round of deliberations on who will join him on the Democratic ticket. Jesse Jackson says he expects to speak privately with Dukakis in the coming week about the vice presidency. As the running drama over a running mate for Dukakis plays on, Democrats were preparing for the opening of their convention a week from today in Atlanta. Republican George Bush, meanwhile, was returning to Washington today after a weekend at his seaside retreat in Kennebunkport, Maine. Aides speaking on condition of anonymity said the vice president, the certain Republican nominee, was preparing to propose a strict new conflict-of-interest code for public officials. Dukakis has frequently attacked Bush over the ethics of Reagan administration officials including Attorney General Edwin Meese III, who last week announced plans to step down. Meese, who was under investigation for a year, declared himself vindicated after an independent counsel decided not to seek an indictment of him. With Meese on the way out, campaign sources said the vice president hopes to take the offensive on the ethics issue. They said he would spell out his proposals later this month. Bush himself was the target of accusations last week from Democratic Party chief Paul Kirk, who accused him of using public funds to pay for campaign appearances. Bush aides denied the allegations. The vice president's only public appearance over the weekend was at a Lithuanian festival on Sunday near his vacation home. He said reforms in the Soviet Union signal a ``time of hope,'' but warned against ``complacency or weakness'' in dealing with Moscow. Bush and Jackson were speaking to the same agricultural group this afternoon in Washington. And all three contenders had appearances set at the NAACP's convention in Washington, Bush and Jackson on Tuesday and Dukakis on Wednesday. Dukakis, who is struggling to resolve a budget crunch in his home state, was turning his attention to gubernatorial business today after a four-day Western trip. In a string of appearances during his last pre-convention campaign swing, Dukakis took Bush to task on a variety of issues, from the Pentagon procurement scandal to the vice president's no-tax-hike pledge. Dukakis says Bush's support for higher fees for some government services amounts to backing higher taxes. Bush disputes that. Even as he sought to turn up the heat on Bush, Dukakis responded coolly to talk of possible convention disputes with Jackson. ``I think Jesse Jackson can do anything he wants to do,'' Dukakis told reporters in Estes Park, Colo., on Sunday. ``I'm going to the convention and I'm going to win it.'' Although Dukakis has the delegates to win the nomination on the first ballot, Jackson said over the weekend that ``my name will be in nomination.'' ``Let no one mislead you. This is not the time for the campaign to wind down,'' Jackson told his Texas delegates in Forth Worth on Sunday night. He suggested that some disagreements with the Dukakis camp would be aired at the convention. ``When you have unresolved matters, you have created tension,'' he told the delegates. However, he denied reports his forces might stage a walkout at the convention over platform disputes. ``It would not be to our advantage to walk out,'' Jackson said Saturday in Los Angeles. ``The threat is not that we're going to walk out. The threat is that we're going to stay and expand and build and grow and make a difference.'' Although Jackson has met several times with Dukakis in recent weeks, he says the two have yet to discuss in depth the possibility of Jackson being on the ticket. Jackson said he expects to have such a private talk before the start of the convention on July 18. The leading contenders for the vice presidential nomination are believed to be Sens. John Glenn of Ohio, Bob Graham of Florida, Lloyd Bentsen of Texas and Albert Gore Jr. of Tennessee, along with Reps. Richard Gephardt of Missouri and Lee Hamilton of Indiana. The Republicans, for their part, intend to fight for a share of the spotlight during the Democratic convention. Bush intends to campaign next week during the gathering, but spokeswoman Sheila Tate says details of his schedule have not yet been set.
