Democratic presidential contender Michael Dukakis said today at the White House that the Reagan administration's anti-terrorist policy is worthless because of arms dealing with Iran. In the Midwest Republican Bob Dole taunted George Bush for refusing to compete in Minnesota and South Dakota. Dukakis, speaking to reporters after a National Governors' Association meeting with the president, said, ``I'd have a much tougher, and much more consistent anti-terrorist policy.'' The Massachusetts governor, referring to the sale of arms to Iran during secret negotiations to free American hostages, said, ``We'll be living with the consequences of what happened in 1985 for a long time.'' ``You never, ever make concessions to terrorism. If you ever do it, then your policy is worthless. And that's what we did,'' said Dukakis. Asked about Dukakis' statement, White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said, ``I think it's very dangerous to make terrorism a political issue, especially when you're talking about specific episodes. Vice President Bush, who has said repeatedly he supported Reagan's Iran initiative but was involved with few details, was campaigning in South Carolina today. But Dole, in Duluth, Minn., was suggesting Bush wasn't where he should have been. Minnesota and South Dakota, the next two events on the long road to the 1988 presidential nominations, vote on Tuesday. ``We're ready to do well here tomorrow. We're here to play,'' Dole told supporters in Duluth today. ``I don't know where George Bush is,'' Dole said. ``I didn't find him yesterday in Wyoming. Couldn't find him in South Dakota. Couldn't find him in Minnesota. Must be somewhere. And these are very important states. Later today we're going to send him a map of Minnesota so at least he gets a little idea where it is.'' Among the Democrats, Richard Gephardt, who also finished first in Iowa, is bidding for a strong showing in South Dakota's Democratic straw poll to give him a boost as the campaign moves toward the Super Tuesday showdown on March 8. The 4,067 Minnesota caucuses are the first step toward choosing 78 delegates to the Democratic National Convention, while on the Republican side caucus attendees will mark a non-binding straw ballot to express their presidential preference. In South Dakota's primary, Republican voters will determine allocation of 18 convention delegates, while the Democrats will hold a beauty contest ballot that will not have a binding effect on who gets the state's national convention delegates. Bush, faced with the potential of a repeat of the Iowa results in which Midwesterner Dole was a big winner, is concentrating on the South where he hopes to cripple the Kansas senator's effort. Dole is a strong favorite in South Dakota, while Minnesota is shaping up as a three-way fight between Dole, Rep. Jack Kemp of New York and former television evangelist Pat Robertson. Dukakis, winner of the New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary, is campaigning hard in both these upper Midwest states in an effort to prove he can win support outside his native New England. After an appearance at the National Governors Association meeting in Washington, including a session with President Reagan, Dukakis was flying to Minnesota to campaign. On his way into the White House for a black-tie dinner Sunday night, Dukakis quipped, ``I'm just looking the place over, that's all.'' Asked where he hoped to be next year, Dukakis replied, ``I hope right here.' Gephardt, who has made tough action to correct trade imbalances a cornerstone of his campaign, got a blow from his House colleagues when words came out they planned to scuttle his legislation that would impose sanctions on countries that maintain large trade surpluses with the United States through unfair practices. ``We're going to dump it because it's bad policy,'' said Rep. Sam Gibbons, D-Fla., chairman of the Trade subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee. ``I'm going to fight for my amendment,'' said Gephardt, when told of the plan. Much of the sniping between presidential rivals was being done by long distance. Sen. Albert Gore Jr. of Tennessee, who made little effort in Iowa and not much more in New Hampshire while pursuing a Southern strategy for the Democratic nomination, was interviewed on the NBC show ``Meet the Press'' on Sunday and got in jabs at both Dukakis and Gephardt. The senator attacked Gephardt for shifting positions. ``It's not a case of just having one or two or three issues where he has changed 180 degrees,'' said Gore. ``There is a long, long list of issues.'' Turning to Dukakis, Gore said the governor has not had ``a single day's experience in foreign policy.'' Dukakis' spokesman Leslie Dach quickly retorted that ``Al Gore's never had a day of experience balancing a budget or building an economy.'' Gephardt was attacking Dukakis in ads running in South Dakota that criticize the Massachusetts governor for not supporting farm legislation sponsored by Gephardt and Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin. The ads also take a shot at Dukakis for once suggesting in Iowa that farmers ought to consider diversifying into such crops as Belgian endive. The ads drew retorts from Dukakis supporters in both Minnesota and South Dakota. ``A new low in South Dakota presidential politics,'' said State Sen. Roger McKellips, a co-chairman of Dukakis' South Dakota campaign. After his surprising second-place finish in the Iowa caucuses, Robertson was considered a strong contender in Minnesota where caucus organization is once again important. The former evangelist was in Spartanburg, S.C., on Sunday and told a crowd of about 4,000 at a church dedication that ``the problem facing America is not a government problem but a moral problem.''
