Former Gov. Michael Dukakis is looking for two wins over the next week: the Red Sox clinching the World Series and Sen. John F. Kerry winning the presidential election.

Dukakis, who ran for president on the democratic ticket in 1988 and is now a distinguished professor of political science at Northeastern, said he has been keeping a close eye on the campaigns of both President George W. Bush and Sen. Kerry, especially as they enter the final stretch before the national election on Nov. 2.

“As I often say, I think I’m the last person to advise on how to win the presidency,” he said, joking about his 1988 loss to former President George Bush. “But this has obviously been a very hard-fought campaign.”

What Dukakis has noticed about this year’s campaign, he said, is the large amount of younger voters who have registered.

“There have been huge increases in young people voters,” he said. “I think a substantial amount of these people are registering because they want to see a new administration.”

Dukakis also said polling statistics are showing a lead for Kerry, which he said is a good sign for the democratic campaign.

When Dukakis began his campaign for the presidency in 1987, he had the help of former Northeastern co-op student Ed Klotzbier, who is today vice president for student affairs. Klotz-bier worked in the Governor’s Office before the campaign began.

“I was offered a job [after graduation], and worked on the Statehouse staff as an aide. I was responsible for setting up all [Dukakis’] public events, doing advance work and scheduling work. Basically, the campaign built around me, I was just with him and all of a sudden he slowly started to win one state after another and became the democratic nominee for president.”

Klotzbier campaigned around the country with Dukakis from the beginnings of his campaign for the democratic nomination until his loss to Bush in the 1988 election.

“It was quite a ride,” he said, “both literally and figuratively.”

After his extensive experience on the campaign trail, Klotzbier said both Bush and Kerry have to focus on connecting with undecided voters in this last week of campaigning in order to secure the presidency.

“You have to say, ‘forget about what the other guy is about, what am I about?'” Klotzbier said. “It’s important to explain to voters, especially undecided voters, ‘Hey, vote for me because I’m going to do X, Y and Z, don’t vote for me because the other guy is a bad guy.'”

Dukakis agreed and said the last week of the campaign is the best opportunity for the candidates to get back to grassroots politics.

“You have to systematically hit the streets, make personal contact,” Dukakis said. “I wouldn’t have been elected dogcatcher in this town if it weren’t for that sort of grassroots campaigning.”

Another important aspect of the campaigns Dukakis said he has noticed is the incorporation of the Internet into campaigning practices.

“[The Internet] has an enormous impact on organizing and keeping your base up and intense,” Dukakis said.

He receives daily updates from the Kerry campaign, which keep him interested and motivated, Dukakis said.

“It’s still very helpful when you’re getting these messages letting you know what’s going on,” he said. “It’s playing a major role, much more in terms of energizing your organization.”

Although Dukakis said the race will be “very, very tight,” he said he still hopes and believes Kerry, his former lieutenant governor, will come out on top at the end of Election Day.

“This is going to be a very tough, very intense race,” he said. “But I think [Kerry] is in a great position to win this.”