CAMPAIGN ’88 : Dukakis Is Picture of Health at L.A. Clinic
- Share via
When Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis and his wife, Kitty, had their blood pressure checked as part of a photo opportunity at a Los Angeles health clinic Saturday, the results confounded conventional perceptions.
The candidate, who is rarely ruffled and has a reputation as a cool technocrat who sets off on vigorous fitness walks whenever he can, came in at 138/82, higher than the normal 120/80.
“There’s steadiness,” Dukakis declared. “It may not be a passionate blood pressure, but it’s steady.” The clinic’s doctor, Pedro Lopez, said later that Dukakis’ mark was at “the high end of normal.”
The more mercurial Kitty Dukakis, however, a cigarette smoker and an infrequent athlete, registered just 118/72. “Amazing,” said Dukakis, who regularly nags his wife about her unhealthful habits.
Dukakis, who supports a system that would guarantee basic health insurance to all Americans, was touring the Arroyo Vista Family Health Center in Highland Park, a clinic that serves 40,000 people a year. He answered questions afterward about health care and other issues in a discussion with about 30 community residents.
Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter
Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond. In your inbox three times per week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
