How did Dukakis get nominated in '88?

[liberal democrat]

The reason why I ask is because if we had a strong Democrat, we could have won in '88 and avoided HW Bush. If that occured, there would probably be no dubya.
Anyway, back to my question, how did someone as weak as Dukakis get nominated back in 1988?

[Name removed]

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[imenja]

2. Jesse Jackson was a candidate that year

and in 1984

[liberalpragmatist]

3. For whatever reason, all the best prospects sat out

First off, I was three at the time. But I have read a lot about politics and recent American political history (as a hobby).

Basically, for various reasons, most of the prominent Democrats sat out. Sen. Gary Hart was the frontrunner, briefly. He would have been a very strong candidate, had he not self-destructed almost immediately in what was an incredibly stupid - and in post-Monica America - incredibly MILD sex scandal (he was photographed with a model sitting on his lap on a yacht called "Monkey Business.") He angrily exited the race, blasting the media. The lady, (Can't recall her name) is now a fundie, go figure.

NY Gov. Mario Cuomo nearly ran and would have been a shoo-in, but he opted not to run despite very publicly flirting with the idea. Ted Kennedy considered running, then backed out. Virginia Gov. Chuck Robb nearly ran but also backed out - I think there may have been a sex scandal there, too. Bill Clinton considered a run (though he couldn't have been considered a "top tier"-challenger at that point).

So the race came down basically to Dukakis, Dick Gephardt, and Al Gore. Gore would probably have been the strongest of the three, but he was seen as too young.

So we got stuck with Dukakis. A good guy, but hopelessly uncharismatic and an incredibly weak candidate. The Democrats should have been favored that year and it should at least have been close, not a landslide. After 8 years and the end of a presidency, the time for-change factor kicks in. Dems should have been favored. But we lost.

***

I've also considered another way in which we could STILL have avoided BushCo. Bob Dole ran what at least at the start was a very serious challenge to Bush for the GOP nomination. Reagan actually refused to endorse Bush, saying he would leave it up to voters. Had Dole won the nomination, he probably would've beaten Dukakis. Dole in turn would probably have been beaten by Clinton and we'd probably have no Dubya. Yay!

[question everything]

6. Donna Rice, I think was her name n/t

[Blue Wally]

18. Not mild

"Sen. Gary Hart was the frontrunner, briefly. He would have been a very strong candidate, had he not self-destructed almost immediately in what was an incredibly stupid - and in post-Monica America - incredibly MILD sex scandal (he was photographed with a model sitting on his lap on a yacht called "Monkey Business.") He angrily exited the race, blasting the media. The lady, (Can't recall her name) is now a fundie, go figure."


Hardly a "mild" sex scandal. The newsies had heard rumours anbd asked Hart about them. Hart essentially siad "why don't you try and catch me". A couple of weekends later, Hart was photographed coming out of his DC townhouse with Donna Rice at an early hour while mrs Hart was away. That is what hit the newstands. Then Donna Rice's girlfriend (who had been running interference for Donna) sold the story of the Bimini trip on the Monkey Business to one of the tabloids complete with with the photos of her sitting on his lap while they wore matching "Monkey Business Crew" T-shirts. The whole thing became a farce and Hart was pretty much reduced to a joke.


Democratic candidate diet: No Rice on weekends

Would you like the potatoes, Sen Hart? No, I want the Rice Pilaf (peel-off).

[NWHarkness]

4. It was a weak field

I've always felt that Dukakis got the nomination because he was sort of a stand in for Mario Cuomo, who didn't run; another ethnic northeastern governor.

Gary Hart could have had it if not for the sex scandal, Biden suffered his anuerysm and Gore came apart in the primaries.

Check out Richard Ben Kramer's What It Takes:The Way To The White House, which is about the '88 campaign and one of the best books ever written about presidential politics.

[Leilani]

5. That is one of my all-time favorite political books!

[carpetbagger]

7. Last man standing.

That's the best way I can describe it. Someone correct me on the facts I forgot, but this is what happened...

Gephardt won Iowa, barely. Dukakis won NH. Gephardt faded by virtue of being unable to establish a national organization. Simon cuaght little fire, so going into the southern primaries, Dukakis emerged as the non-centrist, non-Jesse Jackson candidate by outperforming Babbitt, Simon, and Gephardt (although Gephardt had a bit of a different, more centreist constituency himself).

That left three... Gore, Dukakis, and Jackson. Gore did horribly in New York, and that left Dukakis and Jackson. Thus, when voters had that choice, Dukakis emerged as the winner.

If you look at the punditry of the last primary, with talk of "antideans", "southerners", and a Survivor mentality, I can only think it's people in their 30's who cut thier teeth on the 1988 primary.

[bobbieinok]

8. we democrats in IA were getting almost daily calls from MA for D

before the primary

(just one historical footnote)

[bobbieinok]

9. also Gore in 88 was seen as the superconservative southern candidate

[Lydia Leftcoast]

10. Which he was

As hard as it may be for younger DUers to believe, Gore had a reputation for being very conservative at the time. He had supported Reagan's military buildup and the interventions in Central America, and Tipper was known mostly for her campaign against "filthy" song lyrics.

[liberal democrat]

11. Interesting.

If that's the case, why the heck did he not capatalize on his "conservative" credentials to southern voters INCLUDING IN HIS OWN STATE? You just made me angry at Gore.

[liberalpragmatist]

14. They didn't believe him

The state was always conservative, but had been blue-Dog Democrat for a long time. However, during the Clinton years, the state took a distinct lean to the Republican side.

Plus, Gore assumed he'd have it in the bag. Bush ran a stealth campaign there and the Gore campaign didn't realize they were in trouble until it was much too late.

He had lost touch with his former constituents. It had been 8 years since he'd been Senator and the GOP just spread the lie that he'd done nothing for the state. People didn't really remember him so they associated him with Washinton rather than Tennessee. This could have been corrected, but Gore didn't make this clear to voters.

[baba]

15. Agreed-red and blue were different back then

[AP]

12. I think it was becuase the most powerful people in the party saw them-

selves in Dukakis.

The same people were making the decisions in '92, but decided they needed someone not like themselves, but someone most Americans would like.

[Name removed]

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[Selatius]

16. How much of an influence did the DLC have back in 1988?

Does anyone remember? I think it was established in 1985?

[charlie]

17. Not much

Gore was their presidential candidate that year and he flamed out early.