How Jackson speech played in US cities

In this city where Jackson announced his candidacy and won a smashing victory in the May 1 primary, many blacks felt particularly proud after Jackson's thumping speech to the Democratic convention.

''It was fantastic,'' says building engineer Warren Brawner. ''Everybody's excited. My phone keeps ringing - I just got done talking to my mother.''

But street vendor Alex Johnson, for one, thinks the Democrats should have gone further and picked Jesse Jackson as their vice-presidential candidate.

Democrats have long worried that once the convention was over, disappointed Jackson supporters would lose their fire and turn from the party. ''I think I'll vote for Mondale, though,'' says another Jackson backer, cab driver Gaston Sims. ''I liked what Jesse said about unity.''

Not everyone in Washington is a Jackson supporter, of course. One prominent opponent, President Reagan, wasn't saying whether he watched Jackson's speech. John Buckley, deputy press secretary of the Reagan reelection committee, says that ''it was a good speech, well delivered, but showing him very much to the left of the mainstream Democrat.''

And some young white professionals were not thrilled by Jackson's performance. ''Everything he said sounded to me like he was preaching,'' says a government bureaucrat who asked not to be identified.