Presidential Election of 1988 Change History! Try out the 1988 interactive map 1988 Election Facts Dukakis won West Virginia; however one Elector cast a vote for Dem. Vice-President candidate Lloyd Bentsen (with Dukakis as Vice-President) Issues of the Day: Stock market crash, Iran-Contra, Progress in US-USSR relations (INF Treaty) Margin of Victory Map This map is shaded by how large the popular vote difference was between the two nominees. It is a way to view the relative competitiveness of each state. These maps are also available as a timeline for each election from 1972-2016 . X Content Display Issues A few people have reported problems viewing certain 270toWin election maps and/or polls. If you have an Ad Blocker in place, please disable it. Separately, you may not be able to view our maps in the new IE10 browser due to some changes Microsoft has made regarding the display of Flash content. This issue will not be fixed prior to the election, so you may want to visit 270toWin using a different web browser. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Copyright © 2004-2017 270towin.com All Rights Reserved 1988 Presidential General Election Results 1988 Presidential General Election Results Note: The Google advertisement links below may advocate political positions that this site does not endorse. Results for an Individual State: Election Notes: In West Virginia, One Dukakis Elector cast her vote for Lloyd Bensten (President) and Michael Dukakis (Vice President). Electoral Vote Map Note: there is no implied geographical significance as to the location of the shaded areas for West Virginia's split electoral votes. Share and Recommend: American History: The Presidential Election of 1988 American History: The Presidential Election of 1988 August 08, 2012 George Bush and Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis at their final debate Share See comments Read, listen and learn English with this story. Double-click on any word to find the definition in the Merriam-Webster Learner's Dictionary. STEVE EMBER: Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English. I’m Steve Ember.

This week in our series, we look at the presidential election of nineteen eighty-eight. (MUSIC) ► Listen to this story in high-quality 192kbps audio (or right-click/option-click to save) Ronald Reagan was finishing his second term. He was America's fortieth president and one of the most popular. During his eight years in office, many Americans did well financially. Many felt more secure about the future of the nation and the world. The possibility of nuclear war with the Soviet Union did not seem as great a threat as it had in the past. The Constitution limits presidents to two terms. So, in nineteen eighty-eight, the country prepared to elect a new chief executive. There were three main candidates for the Republican Party nomination. They were George Herbert Walker Bush, Bob Dole and Pat Robertson. Bush had just served eight years as Reagan's vice president. Dole was the top Republican in the Senate. Robertson was a conservative Christian who had his own television program. Ronald Reagan's popularity helped George Bush gain the Republican nomination. Neither Dole nor Robertson won enough votes in the primary election season to be a threat. Bush was nominated on the first vote at the party convention.

The delegates accepted his choice for vice president, Senator Dan Quayle of Indiana. Eight candidates competed for the nomination of the Democratic Party. One of the candidates was Jesse Jackson, a black minister and political activist. He won about twenty-five percent of the delegates. He had also sought the nomination four years earlier. The Democrats chose Michael Dukakis, the governor of Massachusetts. His running mate was Senator Lloyd Bentsen of Texas. In public opinion surveys Dukakis looked like a strong candidate after the party conventions. But then he began to lose popularity. Many observers said he had waited too long to launch a nationwide campaign. The candidates heavily attacked each other through campaign advertising on television. Dukakis came under attack from the Bush campaign, targeting his record as a governor. Campaign ads said Dukakis had not been tough enough with criminals. ANNOUNCER: “Bush and Dukakis on Crime. Bush supports the death penalty for first degree murderers. Dukakis not only opposes the death penalty – he allowed first degree murderers to have weekend passes from prison. One was Willy Horton, who murdered a boy in a robbery, stabbing him nineteen times. Despite a life sentence, Horton received ten weekend passes from prison.

Horton fled, kidnapped a young couple, stabbing the man and repeatedly raping his girlfriend. Weekend prison passes – Dukakis on crime.” Ads by the Bush campaign also said Dukakis would weaken America’s military power. And they accused him of not protecting the environment by seeking a permit to dump sewage from Massachusetts off the coast of New Jersey. ANNOUNCER: “The Environmental Protection Agency called Boston Harbor one of the dirtiest harbors in America. But not long ago, Governor Dukakis proposed a way to help clean it up – by dumping Massachusetts sewage sludge off the New Jersey shore, just one hundred and six miles from New York. Now, Michael Dukakis says he wants to do for America, what he’s done for Massachusetts. New Jersey can’t afford to take that risk.” DUKAKIS: “I’m fed up with it -- never seen anything like it in twenty-five years of public life.” Dukakis fought back. DUKAKIS: “George Bush’s negative TV ads distorting my record -- full of lies, and he knows it.” Dukakis accused Bush of not telling the truth about his part in the secret sales of arms to Iran to finance contra rebels in Nicaragua.

He also criticized Bush for being part of an administration that reduced social programs. DUKAKIS: “I must have been living through a different eight years from the ones the vice president’s been living through, because this administration has cut and slashed, and cut and slashed programs for children, for nutrition, for the kinds of things that can help these youngsters to live better lives. “It’s cut federal aid to education, has cut Pell Grants and loans, to close the door to college opportunity on youngsters all over this country. And that, too, is a major difference between the vice president and me.” (MUSIC) In the end, Bush's campaign succeeded in making Dukakis look weak on crime and defense. Dukakis did not help himself with a commercial in which he was looking out of a moving tank while wearing a large helmet. Many people made fun of the ad. On Election Day in November, Bush defeated Dukakis by almost seven million votes. George Bush was sworn into office on January twentieth, nineteen eighty-nine. GEORGE BUSH: "No president, no government can teach us to remember what is best in what we are.

But if the man you have chosen to lead this government can help make a difference, if he can celebrate the quieter, deeper successes that are made -- not of gold and silk, but of better hearts and finer souls -- if he can do these things, then he must. We as a people have such a purpose today. It is to make kinder the face of the nation and gentler the face of the world. My friends, we have work to do." (MUSIC) George Bush was the son of a United States senator and had led a life of public service. He joined the Navy when America entered World War Two. He flew attack planes. He was just eighteen years old -- at that time, the youngest pilot the Navy ever had. He flew many bombing raids against the Japanese in the Pacific. He was shot down once and rescued by an American submarine. George Bush came home from the war as a hero. He became a university student and got married. He and his wife, Barbara, then moved to Texas where he worked in the oil business. He ran for the United States Senate in nineteen sixty-four, and lost. Two years later, he was elected to the House of Representatives.

He ran for the Senate again in nineteen seventy, and lost again. But by that time, he had gained wider recognition. Over the next eight years, he was appointed to a series of government positions. He was ambassador to the United Nations. He was chairman of the Republican National Committee. He was America's representative in China before the two countries had diplomatic relations. And he was head of the Central Intelligence Agency. In nineteen eighty, Bush ran against Ronald Reagan for the Republican nomination for president. Bush lost but became Reagan's running mate. After two terms as vice president, he felt ready to lead the nation himself. The new president took seven foreign trips during his first year in office. In Europe, Bush met with the other leaders of NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. He proposed a major agreement on reducing troops and non-nuclear weapons in Europe. The Soviet Union considered his proposal an important step in the right direction. (MUSIC) In June of nineteen eighty-nine, the Chinese government sent tanks and troops to crush pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Hundreds and perhaps thousands of demonstrators were killed. President Bush took some steps against China, but many critics felt the sanctions were not strong enough.

In central and eastern Europe, communist governments also faced protests. Since nineteen eighty-seven, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev had let countries in the Warsaw Pact experiment with political and economic reforms. But those reforms were not enough to stop the fall of communist governments in one country after another. In the summer of nineteen eighty-nine, President Bush visited Hungary and Poland. Both nations were trying to develop free-market economies. Both were suffering as they moved away from central control. (AUDIO: Polish Solidarity Union demonstrators singing) In Poland the leader of the Solidary trade union, Lech Walesa, led the push for reform. (AUDIO: Walesa addressing rally in Polish) He would later become president of a democratic Poland. [MONTAGE: BERLIN WALL] (AUDIO: West German “Tagesschau” television evening news program anchor announcing opening of Berlin Wall; car horns; crowds at wall) November of nineteen eighty-nine brought a dramatic expression of the changes taking place in eastern Europe. On November ninth, East Germany opened the wall that had divided it from the West since nineteen sixty-one.

ANNOUNCER (over ABC New Theme): “From ABC, this is World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, reporting tonight from Berlin.” PETER JENNINGS: “From the Berlin Wall specifically. Take a look at them. They’ve been there since last night. They are here in the thousands; they are here in the tens of thousands. Occasionally they shout ‘Die Mauer muss weg!’ – the Wall must go! “Thousands and thousands of West Germans come to make the point that the wall has suddenly become irrelevant. Something, as you can see, almost to party on. How do you measure such an astonishing moment in history? “The East German government said tonight they were going to make more openings in the wall, at least a dozen more, put bulldozers right through the wall, so that more people could cross to the West. The East German communist leadership tonight said there’d be a new election law guaranteeing secret elections which the rest of the world could monitor. “And only twenty-four hours after East Germans were told they could go anywhere, anytime, the Soviet Union said – That was a sensible move!” Within days, citizens and soldiers began tearing the wall down as the world watched with hope for a new era of peace.

SONG: “Freiheit” (Freedom) JENNINGS: “What’s it feel like to be standing on top of the Wall?” YOUNG GERMAN MAN [#1]: “Incredible. For me, it’s…I can’t describe really my feelings. It’s something unreal for me.” YOUNG GERMAN MAN [#2]: “If there is someone who sleeps for eight weeks, and you told him what happened here, he thinks you are crazy. It’s unthinkable [hard to imagine].” SONG: “Freiheit” (MUSIC) The fall of the Berlin Wall pointed to the end of the Soviet Union, the end of Communist rule in most of the countries in the former Soviet Bloc – and the end of more than 40 years of the Cold War between the East and West. The presidency of George Herbert Walker Bush will be remembered as the time during which these world changing events took place, as well as the beginning of the Persian Gulf War with Iraq, following Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. You can find our series online with transcripts, MP3s, podcasts and pictures at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English.

I’m Steve Ember, inviting you to join us again next week for THE MAKING OF A NATION -- American history in VOA Special English. ___ Bush Vs Dukakis the 1988 Presidential Election Essay Bush Vs Dukakis the 1988 Presidential Election Bush vs Dukakis The 1988 Presidential Election On November 8, 1988, Republican Presidential candidate Vice President George H. W. Bush was elected as the forty-first President of the United States of America. Bush defeated Democratic challenger Governor Michael Dukakis by a ratio of a bout six-to-five. 49 million people voted for Bush, netting him 426 electoral votes while 42 million voted for Dukakis getting him 112 electoral votes. Strangely, a man not even running for President received an electoral vote; Lloyd Bentsen (Democratic Vice President Nominee) received one electoral vote from the state of West Virginia. Bush's victory was also a victory for the Republican Party, but the Democrats received a similar victory in that they retained control of both the House and the Senate.

The presidential election as a whole was a negative race, with an abundance of personal attacks (mainly instigated by Bush). The election of Bush in 1988 confirmed the Republican domination of presidential politics for another four years. The Republican Primary was a race between Vice President George Bush and Senator Bob Dole because President Reagan had reached his term limit and could not run again. Bush was Reagan's Vice President, so he started the race as the Republican front-runner. Bush's campaign was startled after its loss to Dole in the Iowa Caucus. Bush stepped up the campaigning, uttering his famous line, "Read my lips, no new taxes." Dole soon ran out of steam when Vice President Bush won every state in the Super Tuesday Primaries. Bush's strong victories are attributed to his ability to gain the support of the religious fundamentalists, mainly in the South. Bush's ability to establish a strong Southern base helped him in both the primary and general elections. The Democratic Primaries were more competitive than the Republican Primaries.

There were five strong candidates heading into the primaries; Senator Gary Hart (D-CO), Congressman Richard Gephardt (D-MO), Senator Al Gore (D-TN), Jesse Jackson, and Governor Michael Dukakis (D-MA). Senator Gary Hart started the primary season as the favorite of many of the party leaders and the Democratic public as a whole. Suspicions of extramarital affairs dogged the Hart camp to the point in which Hart had to address the rumors. Hart challenged the media to investigate him, thinking that they would not pick up the challenge. The Miami Herald followed Senator Hart and reported that Hart was cheating on his wife with model Donna Rice. Hart pulled out of the race, but only briefly. Hart reentered the race in late December 1987, but he never recovered in the polls. Congressman Richard Gephardt started the primary season strong, with a decisive victory in Iowa. However, Gephardt ran into money because he spent the bulk of his funds in Iowa. He soon dropped out of the race. Senator Al Gore can attribute his lose to a weak start in the campaign. Gore lost many early primaries, but he rebounded somewhat when he won six states on Super Tuesday.

Nevertheless, Gore lost because he failed to have a national base. The final blow to Gore's presidential aspirations came when he lost the New York Primary. When Gore dropped out, two strong candidates were left, Jesse Jackson and Governor Dukakis. Jackson ran a strong campaign throughout the primary season. Jackson did not receive the Democratic bid for President because he lacked a sufficient number of delegates to be nominated. Many Democrats agreed with Jackson's views, but most did not consider him electable. Dukakis won the Democratic nomination because of his strong national base and solid funding. He was now able to tackle Vice President George Bush in the presidential election. At the Republican National Convention, George Bush selected Senator Dan Quayle (R-IN) as his running mate. The selection of Quayle as a running mate undoubtedly hurt Bush because many people considered Quayle ill equipped for the job of Vice President. Governor Dukakis, at the Democratic Convention, chose Senator Lloyd Bentsen (D-TX). Bentsen was a good choice for a running mate because Bentsen appealed to a wide array of Democrats. Quayle's adverse effect on Bush's campaign can be seen most clearly in the Vice Presidential debate.

Senator Quayle said to Bentsen that he (Quayle) had as much experience in Congress as Jack Kennedy did when he ran for President. Senator Bentsen replied, "Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy." George Bush's Continue for 4 more pages » • Join now to read essay Bush Vs Dukakis the 1988 Presidential Election How did the Iraqi War effect the Presidential election? After September 11, President Bush and his administration, associated the Iraqi regime with terrorism, and said 675 Words | 3 Pages Of Time and Presidential Election Forecasts clearly indicates by the authors will attempt to explain the relation between time and election forecasts. The introduction tells 528 Words | 3 Pages Presidential Campaign 2000 In the presidential campaign for the year 2000, there are a small number of men running for the spot, and all these 1,119 Words | 5 Pages Bush vs Dukakis The 1988 Presidential Election On November 8, 1988, Republican Presidential candidate Vice President George H. W. Bush was elected as the forty-first 1,198 Words | 5 Pages U.S.

Presidential Election 1988 U.S. Presidential Election 1988 US Prez Polls' Results Declared: Donald Trump President Elect, Mike Pence VP The much anticipated results of the US Presidential elections were finally declared late on November 8, 2016. The Republican Party has scored a landslide victory. Republicans Donald Trump and Mike Pence are going to be the next President and Vice President of the USA. Republican Dominance in House of Reps to Stay The Republicans' dominance in the US House of Representatives is set to continue. While the party may find it difficult to retain majority in the Senate, continued Republican dominance in the House could hamper any legislative agenda taken up by Clinton, in case she is elected. On the other hand, Trump's victory could lead to a prompt demise of outgoing President and Democrat member Barack Obama's health reforms.﻿ Tweets about @Mapsofworld The presidential election of 1988 was a contest between incumbent Vice President George H. W. Bush and the Democratic Governor of Massachusetts, Michael Dukakis. Vice President Bush rode on President Ronald Reagan's popularity and the improved economy, and won the election in a landslide victory. George H. W.

Bush became the forty-third President of the United States. Since incumbent President Reagan was unable to run for reelection as per the Twenty-second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, after already having served two full terms, his vice president was the next best choice. Reagan threw his support behind his vice president, who campaigned on continuing Reagan's policies and promising to not add any new taxes. Bush was elected without opposition at the Republican National Convention, choosing Dan Quayle, a senator from Indiana, to be his vice presidential nominee. The Democratic Party decided to choose a new candidate, after the enormous failure of Walter Mondale in the election of 1984. The party knew they needed a strong, centrist candidate who could unify the party. Many candidates were considered, including Reverend Jesse Jackson and Senators Al Gore and Joe Biden. Mondale's main opponent during the 1984 primary season, Senator Gary Hart, was an early frontrunner until he dropped out of the race. Finally, Governor Michael Dukakis took the lead in six of Super Tuesday's contests. At the Democratic National Convention, Dukakis beat out his nearest competitor, Jackson, by a wide margin, to become the Democratic nominee.

His vice presidential nominee was Lloyd M. Bentsen, a senator from Texas. Ron Paul of Texas ran as the Libertarian Party candidate with vice presidential nominee Andre V. Marrou. During the campaign, Dukakis was seen as too liberal to appeal to the nation as a whole. His lack of military knowledge and experience was highlighted by the Republican Party, which damaged his image with conservative voters. A fierce campaign strategy by the Republicans effectively ended Dukakis's chances at winning the election, despite his success during the first presidential debate. Bush won forty of the fifty states, and a grand total of 426 electoral votes to become the next President of the United States. His popular vote victory was just over 53 percent of the vote, with Dukakis not far behind at 45 percent. Bush won several states which have gone to the Democratic candidate in every election ever since, including California and much of the Northeast. The breakdown of candidates and electoral votes was as follows: Presidential Candidate The Election of 1988 . George H. W. Bush . WGBH American Experience | PBS Other General Articles Though the presumptive heir to President Ronald Reagan , Vice President George H.W.

Bush ran into trouble early in the 1988 campaign. Bush's problem was his image. A Newsweek cover that ran the week he announced his candidacy read, "Fighting the Wimp Factor." His preppy style, coupled with a perception that he was unable or unwilling to question President Ronald Reagan, contributed to a sense that he did not have a stiff enough spine to lead the country. Hard Questions About Iran-Contra After an embarrassing loss to Senator Bob Dole in the Iowa caucuses, Bush appeared in a live television interview with Dan Rather on CBS. The Bush campaign team claimed that the CBS News team had pitched the interview as a routine candidate profile. But on the day of the interview, the Bush team received a tip from a member of the CBS newsroom that the producer of the segment had been walking around the newsroom saying, "We're taking Bush out of the campaign tonight." According to the tip, Dan Rather was preparing a hard-hitting interview heavy on Iran-Contra. Bush aides prepared Bush to have a response ready in case the tip proved accurate. A Knock Out Punch The newscast did indeed begin with a prepared news package that concentrated exclusively on Iran-Contra.

As soon as the package finished and the interview began, the combativeness was clear. When Rather pushed too hard a few minutes into the interview, Bush responded with the rehearsed line calling attention to an incident in which an angry Dan Rather had walked off the stage during a live broadcast and left several minutes of dead air -- Vice President Bush: I'm not suggesting. I'm just saying I don't remember it. Dan Rather: I don't want to be argumentative, Mr. Vice President. Vice President Bush: You do, Dan. Dan Rather: No ... no, sir, I don't. Vice President Bush: This is not a great night, because I want to talk about why I want to be president, why those 41 percent of the people are supporting me. And I don't think it's fair... Dan Rather: And Mr. Vice President, if these questions are ... Vice President Bush: ...to judge my whole career by a rehash on Iran. How would you like it if I judged your career by those seven minutes when you walked off the set in New York? Dan Rather: Well, Mister ... Vice President Bush: ... Would you like that? Dan Rather: Mr. Vice President ...

Vice President Bush: I have respect for you, but I don't have respect for what you're doing here tonight. CBS News maintained that they had informed the Bush campaign that the interview would concentrate on Iran-Contra and therefore the Bush campaign had no right saying they had been ambushed, but to most Americans, Dan Rather had sucker-punched Vice President Bush and Bush delivered a knock out blow in return. Lee Atwater later referred to this interview as a turning point in the primary campaign. The showdown with Dan Rather helped to dispel Bush's wimp image. "Senator Straddle" In the weeks after the Rather interview, the Bush campaign launched another attack, this time an ad targeting Senator Dole, who was leading in the New Hampshire primary. Titled "Senator Straddle," the ad depicted Senator Dole's record as inconsistent. Bush had originally scuttled the ad, but when aides presented him with evidence that not running it could cost him the primary, he approved the ad. Bush won the primary -- and the model for the general election was set. The General Election Vice President Bush's Democratic opponent, Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis, was a relative unknown.

Rather than present a positive view of Bush's accomplishments, the Bush campaign decided to instead focus on attacking Dukakis. The Bush campaign set out to define Dukakis on their terms rather than allowing Dukakis to define himself. It was a break with conventional wisdom, but it succeeded. Some commentators would later call the 1988 campaign the dirtiest in history. Attacking Dukakis By Memorial Day weekend, Vice President Bush was an astonishing 17 points behind Governor Dukakis. That weekend in Kennebunkport , Bush aides presented Vice President Bush with results of a focus group held in Paramus, New Jersey. Comprised of 30 individuals who had voted for Ronald Reagan in 1984 and were planning to vote for Michael Dukakis in 1988, the participants were asked questions such as -- "What if I told you that Dukakis vetoed a bill requiring school-children to say the Pledge of Allegiance? Or that he was against the death penalty?

Or that he gave weekend furloughs to first-degree murderers?" By the end of the focus group session, it was clear to Bush aides that the cumulative effect was devastating to the groups' assessment of Dukakis. The team reported their findings to Bush with strategist Lee Atwater summing up the sentiment, " You gotta go negative . You just gotta." Bush allowed his surrogates to do just that, raising the issue of convicted murderer Willie Horton, an African American inmate who received weekend furloughs in Massachusetts. Bush Victory The tactics worked. Author Evan Thomas would later say: "One of the ironies of George Bush's life is that a fundamentally decent man presided over a moment when politics got meaner and rougher... Lee Atwater and these henchmen for Bush looking for the so-called wedge issues, not really staying on the high road and talking about the great issues of the day, but rather sniping at their opponent to find some weakness in him. And Bush put up with that." Bush went on to win the November election by a wide margin, capturing 53 percent of the popular vote. 1988 U.S. presidential election - RationalWiki 1988 U.S.

presidential election The 1988 U.S. presidential campaign was seemingly quite conventional, with George H.W. Bush defeating Michael Dukakis in the general election. It was, however, in many ways a baseline for what has happened since. Contents [ edit ] Candidates After eight years of Republican rule, it seemed like the door might be open for a Democrat to be elected. But the ghost of Jimmy Carter was still haunting the Democrats. The Republican nomination was Bush's to lose, although he did face a surprisingly not-dead-on-arrival challenge from Pat Robertson , who presumably ran so he could hasten the second coming of Jesus by getting his itchy finger on the nuclear button. Nobody remembers who any of the other candidates were, nor cares: On the Democratic Party side, Al Gore made his first presidential run, Jesse Jackson his last.

Joe Biden and Gary Hart are best remembered for dropping out of the race after scandals Notable third party campaigns included Ron Paul 's run on the Libertarian Party ticket, which he parleyed into a successful newsletter business David Duke 's run on the Populist Party ticket, after which he ran successfully for the Louisiana legislature as a Republican And from the left, Lenora Fulani on the New Alliance Party ticket which managed to get on the ballot in all 50 states but only won 0.2% of the vote. [ edit ] Issues It's worth noting how damaging to American morale the 70's had been. There were certainly moments at the start of the 1970's when the outcome of the Cold War was far from clear; indeed, plenty of commentators felt that America and the west were destined to lose it. Vietnam hadn't been exorcised from the consciousness, and a lot of the military interventions up until 1990/91 had mixed results, too. Major issues of the day included: And the unlikely coalition of John Kerry and Jesse Helms raising questions about the U.S.

government's relationship with Manuel Noriega of Panama Michael Dukakis ran on his record as governor of Massachusetts — the "Massachusetts miracle" — where the state's economy had rebounded during his administration. Then-Vice President Bush began taking steps to distance himself from Reagan in preparation for his presidential run, such as declaring himself an environmentalist . Bush's ability to play a continuity card (with a glowing endorsement) was critical. Ultimately there didn't seem to be any compelling reason for changing direction. Dukakis couldn't have made a case, to be quite honest. History would suggest that Dukakis was ahead of his time. By the time the next election rolled around the Soviet Union had collapsed, new countries were opening up to us, and perhaps for a brief period of a five years or so, the world seemed a relatively safe place (albeit we'd also hit another recession, so the feel-good factor was missing). Dukakis would have slotted into the 90's better than the tail end of the 80's. It's probable that Bob Dole faced a similar dynamic. [ edit ] Culture wars The 1988 election was the last one where the Soviet Union was a decisive electoral issue.

Bush tried to push foreign policy campaign in 1992, but America wasn't listening any more. It was all about the economy stupid. The GOP needed re-branding. Domestically, the war on drugs , AIDS , Satanic panic , the rising political power of the religious right , and the public infatuation with crime and gangs such as the Crips and Bloods were all hot topics. This atmosphere of moral panic made 1988 the first of the modern presidential campaigns in which culture war issues took center stage. ACLU membership became a hindrance to winning instead of a plus, and the most effective campaign tactic turned out to be racist dog whistle attack ads featuring Willie Horton (no relation to the baseball player and coach who actually went by said nickname ), a convicted murderer who was given weekend leave under Dukakis, and who then went on the run, committing several more crimes. Though run by an independent PAC, Dukakis failed to respond clearly enough to repudiate claims made about him. Notably, "Willie Horton" was known by those close to him as simply "Will Horton", meaning that the name "Willie" was added in for pure rhetorical purposes.

The Willie Horton ads became a symbol of a lot of what is wrong with U.S. presidential politics, in terms of negative campaigning winning out over staying positive, the use of focus groups in selecting issues tailored for maximum appeal to morons (aka the Silent Majority), and said morons falling for that level of demagoguery. It was dirty as all hell, but it was far from one-sided, as the crime rate soared to record-breaking levels. Lee Atwater was a slimy little toad, but the Dukakis campaign was simply too soft and gullible to win in 1988. [ edit ] Bloodbath The election of '88 was very much one of Dukakis getting the shit kicked out of him in the dirty tricks stakes. Something felt instinctively wrong about him throughout: It was a drip feed campaign, but it also moved quickly—like a boxer jabbing from multiple positions. No sooner was Dukakis responding to one jab, then the next one was being delivered and the fight had moved on. He was chasing shadows and gave the impression of not being in command. Many of these attacks were engineered by Atwater, who is now being credited as the mastermind.

Dukakis ended up FIRING John Sasso, citing he wanted to run a "clean" campaign. He stuck to principle by stating he opposed the death penalty in all circumstances, making him the last major party candidate to do so. Dukakis proudly mentioned his ACLU membership. Bush ran on Willie Horton. He also successfully pinned Dukakis as being "soft on foreign policy". Dukakis tried to counter this by posing in a tank (which one of his advisers specifically said to NOT to do), but this backfired and made him a joke. Also, his first question in the CNN debate about the death penalty where, without any pause, he said he wouldn't want the death penalty for someone who killed his wife. Bush also ran on a promise of "no new taxes", which came back to haunt him. We all know how taking the high road turned out. Dukakis went from leading in the polls to a 20 point deficit. This tells us more about Boobus Americanus than it does about Michael Dukakis. Unfortunately for Dukakis, he was the last Democratic nominee to be trapped in that era in between when Democrats lost the South and when they found a way to win without it.

Carter was able to overcome that disadvantage only once, by being a Southern Governor. It didn't help much in his second campaign. In the end Dukakis settled on a 20-state strategy of only campaigning in 20 states he needed to carry the electoral vote, conceding the entire south and intermountain west to Bush. Whether a different strategy would have worked is doubtful; he lost many of the states he was counting on winning, including Illinois, California, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, and Vermont. He came surprisingly close to winning South Dakota and Montana though, and might well have won them...had he bothered to campaign there, although this wouldn't have helped his electoral vote much especially if he diverted any resources from the big fish to go after smaller ones. He might have done better had he pursued a farm belt strategy in the Midwest and west instead of dumping all that money into such money sinks as Pennsylvania and California. [ edit ] Legacy Negative campaigning. Tough on crime posturing. The war on drugs.

Establishing the baseline of the current red state-blue state divide after the Reagan Revolution had hit the reset button on whatever the old divide was (Democrats have simply added new states to the baseline established in 1988, giving up only one, West Virginia). Focus groups over principle. ACLU membership and opposition to the death penalty becoming seen as non-starters for a would-be president. The two vice-presidential candidates are remembered chiefly for demonstration that vice-presidential picks rarely make a difference in elections. Lloyd Bentsen, Dukakis's running mate, crushed his opponent Dan Quayle with his "Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy" comment, yet it failed to stop Bush from winning win the election. Four years later it was almost the exact opposite. Clinton hired a great spin team headlined by Carville, Stephanopoulos, and Begala. It also was easier for Clinton because he was able to run against Bush specifically whereas Dukakis had to run off Reagan maybe more so than Bush, since they were both vying for a first term.

(Also GHB was caught looking at his watch during a debate, which gave the impression that he just didn't care/took the election for granted.) Based on those two elections and the 2000 election, it has become crystal clear that a candidate's ability to win an election is more important than the ideas they bring. Pat Robertson's 1988 primary run became the base for his Christian Coalition to set out to take over the Republican Party at the grassroots level. He wound up with a prime time speaking slot in the 1992 Republican convention along with Pat Buchanan , which the two turned into an ugly culture war festival while the world watched. This backfired on the Republicans. American History: George Herbert Walker Bush Is Elected President in 1988 (VOA Special English 2007-07-11) George Herbert Walker Bush Is Elected President in 1988 Download MP3 (Right-click or option-click the link.) This is Rich Kleinfeldt. And this is Tony Riggs with THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a VOA Special English program about the history of the United States.

Today, we tell the story about the presidential election of 1988. America's fortieth president, Ronald Reagan, was one of the most popular. During his eight years in office, many Americans did well financially. Many felt more secure about the future of the nation and the world. The threat of nuclear war did not seem so strong or frightening. American law does not permit presidents to serve more than two terms. So, in 1988, the country prepared to elect a new one. There were three main candidates for the Republican Party nomination. They were George Bush, Robert Dole, and Pat Robertson. Bush had just served eight years as vice-president. Dole was the top Republican in the Senate. Robertson was a very conservative Christian who had a nation-wide television program. George Bush gained from Ronald Reagan's popularity. Reagan's successes were seen as Bush's successes, too. Neither Robert Dole nor Pat Robertson won enough votes in local primary elections to threaten Bush. He was nominated on the first vote at the party convention. The delegates accepted his choice for vice president, Senator Dan Quayle of Indiana. Eight candidates competed for the Democratic Party's nomination. One was Michael Dukakis. He was governor of Massachusetts.

Another was Jesse Jackson. He was a Protestant clergyman and a long-time human rights activist. He had competed for the nomination four years earlier. In 1988, Jesse Jackson received about twenty-five percent of the votes in local primary elections. But he did not win his party's nomination. Delegates at the convention chose Governor Dukakis, instead. For vice president, they chose Senator Lloyd Bentsen of Texas. For a time after the party conventions, public opinion studies showed that a majority of Americans would vote for Dukakis. Then, however, Dukakis began to lose popularity. Political observers said he campaigned too long in his home area before starting the national campaign. Dukakis also suffered from criticism from George Bush. Bush attacked his record as governor. He said Dukakis had not been severe enough with criminals. He said Dukakis would weaken America’s military power and he accused Dukakis of not protecting the environment. Governor Dukakis made charges of his own. He accused Bush of not telling the truth about his part in what was called the Iran-Contra case. He said Bush knew that the government had sold weapons to Iran in exchange for Iran's support in winning the release of American hostages in Lebanon.

And he said Bush knew that the money received for the weapons was being used illegally to aid Contra rebels in Nicaragua. He also criticized Bush for being part of an administration that reduced social services to poor people and old people. Television played a large part in the campaign of 1988. Each candidate made a number of short television films. Some of these political advertisements were strong, bitter attacks on the other candidate. Sometimes it seemed the candidates spent as much time on negative campaign advertisements as they did on advertisements that made themselves look good. In the end, Bush's campaign was more effective. He succeeded in making Dukakis look weak on crime and military issues. He succeeded in making himself look stronger and more decisive. On Election Day in November, Bush defeated Dukakis by almost seven million popular votes. George Bush was sworn-in on January twentieth, 1989. In his inaugural speech he said: BUSH: "No president, no government can teach us to remember what is best in what we are.

But if the man you have chosen to lead this government can help make a difference, if he can celebrate the quieter, deeper successes that are made -- not of gold and silk, but of better hearts and finer souls -- if he can do these things, then he must ... We as a people have such a purpose today. It is to make kinder the face of the nation and gentler the face of the world. My friends, we have work to do." George Bush had led a life that prepared him for public service and leadership. His father had served as a United States senator. When America entered World War Two, George decided to join the Navy. He became a pilot of bomber planes. He was just 18 years old -- at that time the youngest pilot the Navy ever had. He fought against the Japanese in the Pacific battle area. He completed many dangerous bombing raids. He was shot down once and was rescued by an American submarine. George came home from the war as a hero. He became a university student and got married. He and his wife, Barbara, then moved to Texas where he worked in the oil business. He ran for the United States Senate in 1964, and lost.

Two years later, he was elected to the House of Representatives. He ran for the Senate again in 1970, and lost again. But by that time, he had gained recognition. Over the next eight years, he was appointed to a series of government positions. He was ambassador to the United Nations. He was chairman of the Republican National Committee. He was America's representative in China before the two countries had diplomatic relations. And he was head of the Central Intelligence Agency. In 1980, Bush competed against Ronald Reagan for the Republican nomination for president. He lost. But the party chose him to be its vice presidential candidate. Bush gained more power in the position than many earlier vice presidents. After two terms, he felt ready to lead the nation. The new president took seven foreign trips during his first year in office. Observers said his visit to Europe in the spring was especially successful. President Bush met with the leaders of the other countries in NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. He proposed a major agreement on reducing troops and non-nuclear weapons in Europe. The Soviet Union called this proposal a serious and important step in the right direction. In June, the government of China crushed pro-democracy demonstrations in Beijing.

President Bush ordered some restrictions against China to protest the situation. Many critics, however, felt that this action was not strong enough. Unlike in China, communist governments in central and eastern Europe were not able to prevent the coming of democracy. Since 1987, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev had permitted members of the Warsaw Alliance to experiment with political and economic reforms. Reforms were not enough, however. One after the other, these countries rejected communism. Communist governments were removed from office in Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, and Romania. In the middle of the summer, President Bush visited Hungary and Poland. Both nations were trying to reform their economies. Both were suffering from severe problems as they changed from a centrally controlled economy to an economy controlled by free market forces. President Bush promised America's advice and financial help. For almost 50 years, the United States had led the struggle against communism around the world. Now, many of its former enemies needed help. In the autumn of 1989, there was a dramatic expression of the changes taking place in the world. On November 9th, East Germany opened the wall that had divided it from the West since 1961.

Within days, citizens and soldiers began tearing it down. The fall of the Berlin Wall ended almost fifty years of fear and tension between democratic nations and the Soviet Union. All over the world, people renewed their hopes and dreams of living in peace. And former enemies looked to the United States to lead the way. This program of THE MAKING OF A NATION was written by Jeri Watson and produced by Paul Thompson. This is Rich Kleinfeldt. And this is Tony Riggs. Join us again next week for another VOA Special English program about the history of the United States. Election of 1988: Bush succeeds Reagan Blog Election of 1988: Bush succeeds Reagan As Ronald Reagan `s eight-year term of office as president was drawing to a close, the Republicans were determined to keep the office in their hands and show that they were the natural governing party in America. Democrats, who had continued to control both houses of Congress, were just as determined to return the presidency to their control in the election of 1988. There was some early activity in the Republican campaign, with Bob Dole of Kansas and televangelist Pat Robertson taking the top two spots.

However, in the larger national contest, George H.W. Bush showed that his superior national organization and the support of President Reagan were too much for any of his opponents to match. The 1988 Republican national convention was held in New Orleans at the Superdome from August 15 to August 18, 1988. Reagan was still so popular that were it not for the 22nd Amendment, he could have been nominated for another term, but this was not constitutionally possible. It was no surprise that the nomination for President was given to Ronald Reagan`s vice-president for eight years, George H.W. Bush . Much more surprising was Bush`s choice of the little known senator from Indiana, Dan Quayle, to be his running mate. At the convention, Ronald Reagan gave a rousing and well-received speech. A long list of Democrats competed or were at least mentioned for the 1988 nomination. Senator Al Gore of Tennessee was an early candidate. Senator Gary Hart of Colorado seemed to have good prospects before a sex scandal stalled his momentum.

Democrats urged Governor Mario Cuomo of New York to run, having been impressed with his keynote address in 1984, but he didn`t enter the campaign. By the time of the convention, the two principal competitors for the 1988 Democratic nomination for president turned out to be Jesse Jackson, who reprised his 1984 campaign for the nomination with greater success in 1988, and Michael Dukakis, governor of Massachusetts. Jackson ran on an extremely liberal, perhaps borderline socialist, platform which would have been very difficult to promote in the general election, but his campaign stalled after Dukakis claimed an easy victory in Wisconsin in March. At the 1988 Democratic national convention held in Atlanta from July 18 to July 22, the Democrats easily nominated Michael Dukakis on the first ballot. Supporters of Jesse Jackson put forward the argument that he "deserved" the vice-presidential nomination for coming in second. This was a faint echo of the original arrangement in the Electoral College , under which the vice-president was the person who received the second most votes. That had been deemed unworkable by about 1800, and it seemed no better in 1988.

The Democrats avoided confronting the issue directly by having Senator Lloyd Bentsen of Texas nominated by voice vote. During the campaign, Bush benefited from the general peace and prosperity, and the afterglow of Ronald Reagan`s presidency. Michael Dukakis was never able to establish good reasons why the country should switch the White House from Republican control. Attempting to look military, he appeared in a photo op in a tank turret wearing a helmet, in which he simply looked out of place. On election day, November 8, 1988, the Republican ticket rolled to an easy victory. Dukakis carried only 10 states, which was positive only in comparison with the results four years earlier. Nevertheless, the Democrats retained a comfortable margin of 260 to 175 in the House of Representatives, little changed from the 1986 election, and the 45 Republicans who remained in the Senate gave the Democrats a continued, but not filibuster-proof , majority. Election of 1988

Question: Who was the Democratic candidate who lost to George Bush in the US Presidential election in 1988?
Answer: MICHAEL DUKAKIS