Michael Dukakis
Encyclopedia
Michael Stanley Dukakis (dʉˈkɑːkɨs; born November 3, 1933) served as the 65th and 67th Governor of Massachusetts
from 1975–1979 and from 1983–1991, and was the Democratic
presidential nominee in 1988
. He was born to Greek
immigrant
s in Brookline
, Massachusetts
, also the birthplace of John F. Kennedy
, and was the longest serving governor in Massachusetts history. He was the second Greek American
governor in U.S. history after Spiro Agnew
.
in 1912, and graduated from Harvard Medical School
twelve years later, subsequently working as an obstetrician
. His mother Euterpe (née Boukis) (1903–2003) was a Greek immigrant from Larissa
; she and her family emigrated to Haverhill, Massachusetts
, in 1913. She was a graduate of Bates College
.
Dukakis attended Brookline High School
in his hometown. He graduated from Swarthmore College
in 1955, served in the U.S. Army
1955–1957, stationed in Korea
, and then received his law degree
from Harvard Law School
in 1960. Dukakis is also an Eagle Scout
and recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award
from the Boy Scouts of America
.
between 1962 and 1970 (he was also the Democratic Party's nominee for lieutenant governor in 1970), Dukakis was elected governor in 1974, defeating the incumbent Republican Francis Sargent during a period of fiscal crisis. Dukakis won in part by promising to be a 'reformer' and pledging not to increase the state's sales tax to balance the state budget. He would later reverse his position after taking office. He also had pledged to dismantle the powerful Metropolitan District Commission
, a bureaucratic enclave that served as home to hundreds of political patronage employees. The MDC managed Massachusetts' parks, reservoirs, and waterways, as well as the highways and roads abutting those waterways. In addition to its own police force, the MDC had its own maritime patrol force, and an enormous budget from the state, for which it provided minimal accounting. Dukakis's efforts to dismantle MDC failed in the legislature where MDC had many powerful supporters. MDC would later withhold its critical backing of Dukakis in the 1978 gubernatorial primary.
Governor Dukakis was an amiable host to President Ford
and Queen Elizabeth II
during their visits to Boston in 1976 to commemorate the bicentennial of the United States. He gained some notice as the only person in the state government who went to work during the great Blizzard of 1978
. During the storm, he went into local TV studios in a sweater to announce emergency bulletins. Dukakis is also remembered for his 1977 exoneration
of Sacco and Vanzetti
, two Italian anarchists whose trial sparked protests around the world, and who were electrocuted by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts fifty years earlier in 1927.
During his first term in office, Dukakis commuted
the sentences of 21 first-degree murderers and those of 23 second-degree murderers. Due to controversy engendered by some of these individuals having re-offended, Dukakis curtailed the practice later, issuing no commutations in his last three years as governor.
However, this performance did not prove enough to offset a backlash against the state's high sales and property tax rates, which turned out to be the predominant issue in the 1978 gubernatorial campaign. Dukakis, despite being the incumbent Democratic governor, was refused renomination by his own party. The state Democratic Party supported Edward J. King
in the primary
partly because King rode the wave against high property taxes (along with the passing of a binding petition on the state ballot that limited property tax rates to 2½% of the property valuation– known as Proposition 2½), but more significantly because State Democratic Party leaders lost confidence in Dukakis's ability to govern effectively. King also enjoyed the support of the powerbrokers at the MDC, who were unhappy with Dukakis's attempts to disempower and dismantle the powerful bureaucracy. King also had support from state police and public employee unions. Dukakis suffered a scathing defeat in the primary. It was "a public death", according to his wife Kitty.
was elected lieutenant governor
on the same ballot with Dukakis, and served in the Dukakis administration from 1983–85.
Dukakis served as governor again from 1983–91 (winning reelection in 1986 with nearly 70 percent of the vote) during which time he presided over a high-tech boom and a period of prosperity in Massachusetts and simultaneously getting the reputation for being a 'technocrat'. The National Governors Association voted Dukakis the most effective governor in 1986. Residents of the city of Boston
and its surrounding areas remember him for the improvements he made to Boston's mass transit
system, especially major renovations to the city's trains and buses
. He was known as the only governor who rode the subway
to work every day.
He made a cameo appearance in the medical drama St. Elsewhere
(Season 3, Episode 15, "Bye, George," January 9, 1985). He limps to the hospital desk and says that he has suffered a jogging injury, but Dr. Fiscus (played by Howie Mandel
) refuses to believe that he is the governor.
At the close of the governor's tenure, Massachusetts was mired deeply in debt facing a budget shortfall of more than $1.5 billion.
" to promote his campaign, Dukakis sought the Democratic Party nomination for President of the United States
in the 1988 elections
, prevailing over a primary field that included Jesse Jackson
, Dick Gephardt
, Paul Simon
, Gary Hart
, Joe Biden
and Al Gore
, among others. Dukakis's success at the primary level has been largely attributed to John Sasso
, his campaign manager. Sasso, however, was one of two aides dismissed (Paul Tully was the other) when a video showing plagiarism by Biden (D-Delaware
) was made public and an embarrassed Biden was forced to withdraw from the race. This situation got uglier when Tully implied that it was Dick Gephardt's campaign (as opposed to Dukakis's campaign) that actually passed along the damaging information on Biden.
Despite the claims that Dukakis always "turned the other cheek", he did run a particularly effective commercial against Gephardt that featured a tumbler doing somersault
s while the announcer said, "Dick Gephardt has been flip-flopping over the issues." Dukakis finished third in the Iowa caucuses and then won the New Hampshire primary
by more than 16 points, with Gephardt finishing second. Dukakis finished first in Minnesota and second in South Dakota, before winning Florida
, Texas
, and Maryland
on March 8, 1988, the day of the "Super Tuesday
" series of primaries. As his competition continued to fade, Dukakis wound up with a seven-week stretch of one-on-one elections between himself and civil rights leader Jesse Jackson
. Dukakis lost the Michigan
caucus to Jackson but then prevailed by margins of two to one in Wisconsin
, New York
, Pennsylvania
, Ohio
, California
, and New Jersey
. Within a week of clinching the nomination on June 7, 1988, Dukakis had yielded to political pressure from Jackson by agreeing that the Democratic Party platform would include a commitment to declare apartheid South Africa a 'terrorist state'.
Touching on his immigrant roots, Dukakis used Neil Diamond
's ode to immigrants, "America
", as the theme song for his campaign. Famed composer John Williams
wrote "Fanfare for Michael Dukakis" in 1988 at the request of Dukakis's father-in-law, Harry Ellis Dickson. The piece was premiered under the baton of Dickson (then the Associate Conductor of the Boston Pops) at that year's Democratic National Convention
in Atlanta.
During the general election campaign, Vice President George H. W. Bush
, the Republican nominee, criticized Dukakis for his traditionally liberal positions on many issues. These included Dukakis's statement during the primary season that he was "a card-carrying member of" the American Civil Liberties Union
, his veto
of legislation requiring public school teachers to lead pupils in the Pledge of Allegiance
, and his opposition to the resumption of capital punishment in the United States
.
Dukakis had trouble with the personality that he projected to the voting public. His reserved and stoic nature was easily interpreted to be a lack of passion (which went against the ethnic stereotype of his Greek American
heritage). Dukakis was often referred to as "Zorba the Clerk
". Nevertheless, Dukakis is considered to have done well in the first presidential debate with George Bush. In the second debate, Dukakis had been suffering from the flu and spent quite a bit of the day in bed. His performance was poor and played to his reputation as being cold.
During the campaign, Dukakis's mental health became an issue when he refused to release his full medical history and there were, according to The New York Times, "persistent suggestions" that he had undergone psychiatric treatment in the past. The issue even caused then-President Ronald Reagan
, when asked whether the Democratic Presidential nominee should make his medical records public, to quip with a grin: "Look, I'm not going to pick on an invalid." Twenty minutes later, Reagan stated that he "attempted to make a joke in response to a question" and that "I think I was kidding, but I don't think I should have said what I said." Reagan continued, "I do believe that the medical history of a President is something that people have a right to know, and I speak from personal experience." Dr. Gerald R. Plotkin, Dukakis's physician since 1970, stated that "[Dukakis] has had no psychological symptoms, complaints or treatment."
program. The original State inmate furlough program, for which convicted first-degree murderers were ineligible, was actually signed into law by Republican Governor Francis W. Sargent in 1972. After the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that this right extended to first-degree murderers, the Massachusetts legislature quickly passed a bill prohibiting furloughs for such inmates. During his first term as Governor, he had vetoed a bill that would have stopped furloughs for first-degree murderers. During his second term, that program resulted in the release of convicted murderer William "Willie" Horton
, who committed a rape and assault in Maryland
after being furloughed. Al Gore
was the first candidate to publicly raise the furlough issue and asked about "weekend passes for convicted criminals" in a debate held in New York
prior to the Democratic primary in that state, although Gore never mentioned Horton by name or that he had broken into a house, raped a woman, and beaten her husband.
George H. W. Bush
mentioned Horton by name in a speech in June 1988, and his campaign brought up the Horton case. A conservative political action committee
affiliated with the Bush campaign, the National Security Political Action Committee, aired an ad entitled "Weekend Passes", which used a mug shot
image of Horton. The Bush campaign refused to repudiate it. That ad campaign
was followed by a separate Bush campaign ad, "Revolving Door
", criticizing Dukakis over the furlough program without mentioning Horton. The legislature canceled the program during Dukakis's last term.
issue would be brought up, Dukakis's campaign manager, Susan Estrich
, had prepared with Michael Dukakis an answer highlighting the candidate's empathy for victims of crime, noting the beating of his father in a robbery and the death of his brother in a hit-and-run car accident. However, when Bernard Shaw
, the moderator of the debate, asked Dukakis, "Governor, if Kitty Dukakis
[his wife] were raped and murdered, would you favor an irrevocable death penalty for the killer?" Dukakis replied, "No, I don't, and I think you know that I've opposed the death penalty during all of my life", and explained his stance. After the debate, Dukakis told Estrich he was sorry and didn't realize it was that question. Many observers felt Dukakis's answer lacked the passion one would expect of a person discussing a loved one's rape and death. Many– including the candidate himself– believe that this, in part, cost Dukakis the election, as his poll numbers dropped from 49% to 42% nationally that night. Other commentators thought the question itself was unfair, in that it injected an irrelevant emotional element into the discussion of a policy issue and forced the candidate to make a difficult choice.
in Massachusetts classrooms. Dukakis felt the law was unconstitutional (the Supreme Court
held that compulsory recitation of the Pledge was unconstitutional in the 1943 case, West Virginia v. Barnette
).
Dukakis was criticized during the campaign for a perceived softness on defense issues, particularly the controversial "Star Wars" SDI
program, which he promised to weaken (although not cancel). In response to this, Dukakis orchestrated what would become the key image of his campaign, although it turned out quite differently from what he intended. On September 13, 1988 Dukakis visited the General Dynamics
Land Systems plant at 38500 Mound Road in Sterling Heights, Michigan
to take part in a photo op
in an M1 Abrams
tank. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
, Margaret Thatcher
, had been photographed in a similar situation in 1986, riding in a Challenger
tank while wearing a scarf; although somewhat out of character, the image was effective and helped Thatcher's reelection prospects. Dukakis's "tank moment" was much less successful, however. Footage of Dukakis was used in television ads by the Bush campaign, as evidence that Dukakis would not make a good commander-in-chief
, and "Dukakis in the tank" remains shorthand for backfired public relations
outings. Although he served in the United States Army
, Dukakis was widely mocked by his opponents for what they characterized as martial posturing and a silly image.
candidate was Senator
Lloyd Bentsen
of Texas
. The Dukakis/Bentsen ticket lost the election in an Electoral College landslide to George H.W. Bush, carrying only 10 states and the District of Columbia
. Dukakis himself blames his defeat on the time he spent doing gubernatorial work in Massachusetts during the few weeks following the Democratic Convention. Many believed he should have been campaigning across the country. During this time, his 17-point lead in opinion polls completely disappeared, as his lack of visibility allowed Bush to define the issues of the campaign.
Despite Dukakis's loss, his performance was a marked improvement over the previous two Democratic efforts. Dukakis made some strong showings in states that had voted for Republicans Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford
. He also scored victories in states like Rhode Island
, Hawaii
, and Dukakis's home state of Massachusetts; Walter Mondale
had lost all three, and since then, all three states have remained in the Democratic column for each subsequent presidential election. He swept Iowa
, winning it by 10 points, an impressive feat in a state that had voted Republican in the last five elections. He got 43% of the vote in Kansas
, a surprising showing in the home state of 1936 Republican presidential nominee Alf Landon
and future Republican nominee Bob Dole
. In another surprising showing, he received 47% of the vote in South Dakota
. In Montana
, Dukakis racked up a close 46% of the vote in a state that had gone over 60% Republican four years earlier. Dukakis's relative strength in farm states was no doubt due to the serious economic difficulties these states were facing in the 1980s, and it was the strongest showing in the Midwest for a Democrat since 1976.
Although Dukakis cut into the Republican hold in the Midwest, he failed to dent the emerging GOP stronghold in the South that had been forming since 1964 with a temporary reprieve with Jimmy Carter
. He lost most of the South in a landslide, with Bush's totals reaching around 60% in most states. He was able to hold Bush to 55% in Texas, though this may have been due to Lloyd Bentsen
's presence on the ticket. He also carried most of the southern-central parishes of Louisiana
, despite losing the state. He held onto the border state of West Virginia
, and he captured 48% of the vote in Missouri
. He also carried 41% in Oklahoma
, a bigger share than any Democrat since Jimmy Carter.
In the Rust Belt
, Dukakis also performed poorly, though he lost some states by close margins. He lost Pennsylvania
, Michigan
, Ohio
, and New Jersey
. He won his home state of Massachusetts by only eight points, perhaps due to the unrelenting criticism of his record as governor. Dukakis's performance in the traditionally Democratic Northeast was also poor: he lost Maryland
, Delaware
, Vermont
, New Hampshire
, Connecticut
, and Maine
. The only other New England
state he won was Rhode Island
. Dukakis's biggest prize was winning New York
, the second-largest state in the electoral college
. In the Pacific Northwest, Dukakis did much better, capturing both Washington and Oregon
but losing California
and Alaska
.
Dukakis won 41,809,476 votes in the popular vote. He also received 40% or more in the following states: Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Vermont.
Overall, the 1988 election showed a marked improvement in the popular vote for the Democrats. While he lost the popular vote, Dukakis's margin of loss (7.8%) was narrower than Jimmy Carter's in 1980 (9.7%) or Walter Mondale's in 1984 (18.2%). However, Dukakis was and is still regarded as a failed candidate, as he had enjoyed large summer leads and his drop in the polls can be attributed to his failed campaigning more than anything else.
In 2008, he reflected on his defeat during an interview with Katie Couric
, in which he said he "owe[d] the American people an apology" because "if I had beaten the old man
, we never would have heard of the kid
, and we wouldn't be in this mess."
Dukakis appears in the 2008 award-winning documentary on Lee Atwater
, Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story
.
President John Silber
won the Democratic nomination, and lost the general election to William Weld
.
After the end of his term, he served on the board of directors
for Amtrak
, and became a professor of political science
at Northeastern University in Massachusetts, visiting professor of political science at Loyola Marymount University
, and visiting professor in the Department of Public Policy at the School of Public Affairs at UCLA
. Along with a number of other notable Greek Americans, he is a founding member of The Next Generation Initiative
, a leadership program aimed at getting students involved in public affairs. In November 2008, Northeastern named its new Center for Urban and Regional Policy after Michael Dukakis and his wife Kitty. He continued to talk in media interviews about the "negative" 1988 Bush campaign, beginning with his press conference on the day after the election, continuing throughout Bush's term, and also subsequent to Bush's defeat in the 1992 election
.
Dukakis has recently developed a strong passion for grassroots
campaigning and the appointment of precinct captains to coordinate local campaigning activities, two strategies he feels are essential for the Democratic Party to compete effectively in both local and national elections. In 2006, he and Kitty worked to help Democratic candidate Deval Patrick
in his efforts to become governor of Massachusetts. He also has taken a strong role in advocating for effective public transportation and high speed rail as a solution to automobile congestion and the lack of space at airports. He has recently been an advocate for the extended learning time initiative in public schools.
In August, 2009, the 75-year old Dukakis was mentioned as one of two leading candidates as a possible interim successor to Ted Kennedy
in the U.S. Senate. Gov. Patrick named Paul G. Kirk, the other leading candidate and favorite of the Kennedy family who promised not to run in the election, to fill the seat instead.
. During the second presidential debate on October 13, 1988, in Los Angeles, Dukakis revealed that he and his wife had had another child, who died about twenty minutes after birth.
The Dukakises continue to reside in Michael's boyhood home in Brookline, Massachusetts
, but live in Los Angeles
during the winter while he teaches at UCLA
. Had Dukakis been elected, he would have been only the second US President to have had two immigrant parents. Andrew Jackson
is the only president to have been born of two immigrants.
He is the cousin of actress Olympia Dukakis
.
Democratic Massachusetts gubernatorial primary, 1978
Democratic Massachusetts gubernatorial primary, 1982
Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1982
Democratic Massachusetts gubernatorial primary, 1986
Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1986
1988 Democratic presidential primaries
1988 Democratic National Convention
United States presidential election, 1988
.
A picture of Dukakis is featured in The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear
. It hangs on the walls inside "The Blue Note" bar, next to photos depicting notable disasters in history. This "disaster" reference is implied again at the end of the film, when Frank Drebin shares his dream of "a world where the Democrats will put somebody up there worth voting for."
Dukakis has a cameo
in the 2007 direct to video film, The Junior Defenders
.
He is also mentioned and seen in the 2001 film, Donnie Darko
.
In an episode of Friends
("The One with the Donor"), Chandler and Monica's friend Zack (portrayed by John Stamos
) is asked by the couple if he has a history of mental illness in the family, to which he replies: "No, although I did have an uncle who voted for Dukakis".
Governor of Massachusetts
The Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the executive magistrate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The current governor is Democrat Deval Patrick.-Constitutional role:...
from 1975–1979 and from 1983–1991, and was the Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
presidential nominee in 1988
United States presidential election, 1988
The United States presidential election of 1988 featured no incumbent president, as President Ronald Reagan was unable to seek re-election after serving the maximum two terms allowed by the Twenty-second Amendment. Reagan's Vice President, George H. W. Bush, won the Republican nomination, while the...
. He was born to Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
immigrant
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
s in Brookline
Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston and Newton. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 58,732.-Etymology:...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, also the birthplace of John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
, and was the longest serving governor in Massachusetts history. He was the second Greek American
Greek American
Greek Americans are Americans of Greek descent also described as Hellenic descent. According to the 2007 U.S. Census Bureau estimation, there were 1,380,088 people of Greek ancestry in the United States, while the State Department mentions that around 3,000,000 Americans claim to be of Greek descent...
governor in U.S. history after Spiro Agnew
Spiro Agnew
Spiro Theodore Agnew was the 39th Vice President of the United States , serving under President Richard Nixon, and the 55th Governor of Maryland...
.
Early career and family
Dukakis's father Panos (1896–1979) was a Greek from Adramytio, in Asia Minor, who settled in Lowell, MassachusettsLowell, Massachusetts
Lowell is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 106,519. It is the fourth largest city in the state. Lowell and Cambridge are the county seats of Middlesex County...
in 1912, and graduated from Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
twelve years later, subsequently working as an obstetrician
Obstetrics
Obstetrics is the medical specialty dealing with the care of all women's reproductive tracts and their children during pregnancy , childbirth and the postnatal period...
. His mother Euterpe (née Boukis) (1903–2003) was a Greek immigrant from Larissa
Larissa
Larissa is the capital and biggest city of the Thessaly region of Greece and capital of the Larissa regional unit. It is a principal agricultural centre and a national transportation hub, linked by road and rail with the port of Volos, the city of Thessaloniki and Athens...
; she and her family emigrated to Haverhill, Massachusetts
Haverhill, Massachusetts
Haverhill is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 60,879 at the 2010 census.Located on the Merrimack River, it began as a farming community that would evolve into an important industrial center, beginning with sawmills and gristmills run by water power. In the...
, in 1913. She was a graduate of Bates College
Bates College
Bates College is a highly selective, private liberal arts college located in Lewiston, Maine, in the United States. and was most recently ranked 21st in the nation in the 2011 US News Best Liberal Arts Colleges rankings. The college was founded in 1855 by abolitionists...
.
Dukakis attended Brookline High School
Brookline High School
Brookline High School is a four-year public high school in the town of Brookline, Massachusetts, in the United States.As of the 2007-08 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,826 students and 136 teachers , for a student-teacher ratio of 13.4 to 1 teacher.-Education:Almost every senior in...
in his hometown. He graduated from Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
in 1955, served in the U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
1955–1957, stationed in Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, and then received his law degree
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
from Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
in 1960. Dukakis is also an Eagle Scout
Eagle Scout (Boy Scouts of America)
Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America . A Scout who attains this rank is called an Eagle Scout or Eagle. Since its introduction in 1911, the Eagle Scout rank has been earned by more than 2 million young men...
and recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award
Distinguished Eagle Scout Award
The Distinguished Eagle Scout Award is a distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America . It is awarded to an Eagle Scout for distinguished service in his profession and to his community for a period of at least 25 years after attaining the level of Eagle Scout...
from the Boy Scouts of America
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
.
First governorship (1975–1979)
After winning four terms to the Massachusetts House of RepresentativesMassachusetts House of Representatives
The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from single-member electoral districts across the Commonwealth. Representatives serve two-year terms...
between 1962 and 1970 (he was also the Democratic Party's nominee for lieutenant governor in 1970), Dukakis was elected governor in 1974, defeating the incumbent Republican Francis Sargent during a period of fiscal crisis. Dukakis won in part by promising to be a 'reformer' and pledging not to increase the state's sales tax to balance the state budget. He would later reverse his position after taking office. He also had pledged to dismantle the powerful Metropolitan District Commission
Department of Conservation and Recreation (Massachusetts)
The Department of Conservation and Recreation is a state agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, situated in the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. It is best known for its parks and parkways. As of May 24, 2011 the Commissioner of the DCR is Edward M. Lambert, Jr...
, a bureaucratic enclave that served as home to hundreds of political patronage employees. The MDC managed Massachusetts' parks, reservoirs, and waterways, as well as the highways and roads abutting those waterways. In addition to its own police force, the MDC had its own maritime patrol force, and an enormous budget from the state, for which it provided minimal accounting. Dukakis's efforts to dismantle MDC failed in the legislature where MDC had many powerful supporters. MDC would later withhold its critical backing of Dukakis in the 1978 gubernatorial primary.
Governor Dukakis was an amiable host to President Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
and Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
during their visits to Boston in 1976 to commemorate the bicentennial of the United States. He gained some notice as the only person in the state government who went to work during the great Blizzard of 1978
Northeastern United States Blizzard of 1978
The Northeastern United States blizzard of 1978 was a catastrophic and historic nor'easter that brought blizzard conditions to the New England region of the United States and the New York metropolitan area. The "Blizzard of '78" formed on February 5, 1978 and broke up on February 7, 1978...
. During the storm, he went into local TV studios in a sweater to announce emergency bulletins. Dukakis is also remembered for his 1977 exoneration
Exoneration
Exoneration occurs when a person who has been convicted of a crime is later proved to have been innocent of that crime. Attempts to exonerate convicts are particularly controversial in death penalty cases, especially where new evidence is put forth after the execution has taken place.The term...
of Sacco and Vanzetti
Sacco and Vanzetti
Ferdinando Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were anarchists who were convicted of murdering two men during a 1920 armed robbery in South Braintree, Massachusetts, United States...
, two Italian anarchists whose trial sparked protests around the world, and who were electrocuted by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts fifty years earlier in 1927.
During his first term in office, Dukakis commuted
Commutation of sentence
Commutation of sentence involves the reduction of legal penalties, especially in terms of imprisonment. Unlike a pardon, a commutation does not nullify the conviction and is often conditional. Clemency is a similar term, meaning the lessening of the penalty of the crime without forgiving the crime...
the sentences of 21 first-degree murderers and those of 23 second-degree murderers. Due to controversy engendered by some of these individuals having re-offended, Dukakis curtailed the practice later, issuing no commutations in his last three years as governor.
However, this performance did not prove enough to offset a backlash against the state's high sales and property tax rates, which turned out to be the predominant issue in the 1978 gubernatorial campaign. Dukakis, despite being the incumbent Democratic governor, was refused renomination by his own party. The state Democratic Party supported Edward J. King
Edward J. King
Edward Joseph "Ed" King was the 66th Governor of the U.S. state of Massachusetts from 1979 to 1983.Born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, and a graduate of Boston College and Bentley College, King played professional football as a guard with the All-America Football Conference Buffalo Bisons from 1948 to...
in the primary
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
partly because King rode the wave against high property taxes (along with the passing of a binding petition on the state ballot that limited property tax rates to 2½% of the property valuation– known as Proposition 2½), but more significantly because State Democratic Party leaders lost confidence in Dukakis's ability to govern effectively. King also enjoyed the support of the powerbrokers at the MDC, who were unhappy with Dukakis's attempts to disempower and dismantle the powerful bureaucracy. King also had support from state police and public employee unions. Dukakis suffered a scathing defeat in the primary. It was "a public death", according to his wife Kitty.
Cabinet
| The First Dukakis Cabinet | ||
|---|---|---|
| OFFICE | NAME | TERM |
| Governor Governor of Massachusetts The Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the executive magistrate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The current governor is Democrat Deval Patrick.-Constitutional role:... |
Michael Dukakis | 1975 1979 |
| Lt. Governor Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts The Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts is the first in the line to discharge the powers and duties of the office of governor following the incapacitation of the Governor of Massachusetts... |
Thomas P. O'Neill III Thomas P. O'Neill III Thomas Phillip O'Neill III leads a public relations and government affairs firm called O'Neill and Associates in Boston. He is the son of Tip O'Neill, who served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1987.From 1975 to 1983, O'Neill served as lieutenant governor of... |
1975 1979 |
| Secretary of Transportation | Frederick P. Salvucci Frederick P. Salvucci Frederick Peter Salvucci is a civil engineer specializing in transportation, in particular infrastructure, urban transportation, public transportation and institutional development in decision-making. He was the Secretary of Transportation for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts under Governor... |
1975 1979 |
| Secretary of Communities and Development | William G. Flynn | 1975 1979 |
| Secretary of Environmental Affairs | Evelyn Murphy Evelyn Murphy Evelyn Murphy was the Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts from 1987 to 1991, being the first woman in the history of the state to hold a constitutional office... |
1975 1979 |
| Secretary of Consumer Affairs | Lola Dickerman Christine Sullivan |
1975 1976 1976 1979 |
| Secretary of Human Services | Lucy W. Benson Lucy W. Benson Lucy Wilson Benson was United States Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs from 1977 to 1980. When Benson was named to this post, it was the highest position ever held by a woman in the United States Department of State.-References:... Jerald Stevens |
1975 1975 1975 1979 |
| Secretary of Elder Affairs | James H. Callahan | 1977 1979 |
| Secretary of Administration & Finance | John R. Buckley John R. Buckley John R. Buckley is an American politician who served as Massachusetts Secretary of Administration and Finance from 1975 to 1979, member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from from 1965 to 1975, and Abington, Massachusetts Town Treasurer from 1961 to 1965... |
1975 1979 |
| Secretary of Public Safety | Charles V. Barry | 1975 1979 |
| Secretary of Economic Affairs | Howard N. Smith | 1977 1979 |
| Secretary of Energy | Henry Lee | 1975 1979 |
Second governorship (1983–1991)
Four years later, having made peace with the state Democratic Party, MDC, the state police and public employee unions, Dukakis defeated King in a 're-match' in the 1982 Democratic primary. He went on to defeat his Republican opponent John Winthrop Sears, who was MDC Commissioner under Sargent, in the November election. Future United States Senator and 2004 Democratic Presidential nominee John KerryJohn Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
was elected lieutenant governor
Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
The Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts is the first in the line to discharge the powers and duties of the office of governor following the incapacitation of the Governor of Massachusetts...
on the same ballot with Dukakis, and served in the Dukakis administration from 1983–85.
Dukakis served as governor again from 1983–91 (winning reelection in 1986 with nearly 70 percent of the vote) during which time he presided over a high-tech boom and a period of prosperity in Massachusetts and simultaneously getting the reputation for being a 'technocrat'. The National Governors Association voted Dukakis the most effective governor in 1986. Residents of the city of Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
and its surrounding areas remember him for the improvements he made to Boston's mass transit
Public transport
Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...
system, especially major renovations to the city's trains and buses
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, often referred to as the MBTA or simply The T, is the public operator of most bus, subway, commuter rail and ferry systems in the greater Boston, Massachusetts, area. Officially a "body politic and corporate, and a political subdivision" of the...
. He was known as the only governor who rode the subway
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
to work every day.
He made a cameo appearance in the medical drama St. Elsewhere
St. Elsewhere
St. Elsewhere is an American medical drama television series that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982 to May 25, 1988. The series is set at fictional St. Eligius, a decaying urban teaching hospital in Boston's South End neighborhood...
(Season 3, Episode 15, "Bye, George," January 9, 1985). He limps to the hospital desk and says that he has suffered a jogging injury, but Dr. Fiscus (played by Howie Mandel
Howie Mandel
Howard Michael "Howie" Mandel is a Canadian stand-up comedian, television host, and actor. He is well known as host of the NBC game show Deal or No Deal, as well as the show's daytime and Canadian-English counterparts. Before his career as a game show host, Mandel was best known for his role on...
) refuses to believe that he is the governor.
At the close of the governor's tenure, Massachusetts was mired deeply in debt facing a budget shortfall of more than $1.5 billion.
Cabinet
| The Second Dukakis Cabinet | ||
|---|---|---|
| OFFICE | NAME | TERM |
| Governor Governor of Massachusetts The Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the executive magistrate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The current governor is Democrat Deval Patrick.-Constitutional role:... |
Michael Dukakis | 1983 1991 |
| Lt. Governor Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts The Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts is the first in the line to discharge the powers and duties of the office of governor following the incapacitation of the Governor of Massachusetts... |
John Kerry John Kerry John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W... Evelyn Murphy Evelyn Murphy Evelyn Murphy was the Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts from 1987 to 1991, being the first woman in the history of the state to hold a constitutional office... |
1983 1985 1987 1991 |
| Secretary of Transportation | Frederick P. Salvucci Frederick P. Salvucci Frederick Peter Salvucci is a civil engineer specializing in transportation, in particular infrastructure, urban transportation, public transportation and institutional development in decision-making. He was the Secretary of Transportation for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts under Governor... |
1983 1991 |
| Secretary of Communities and Development | Amy S. Anthony | 1983 1991 |
| Secretary of Environmental Affairs | James Hoyte John DeVillars |
1983 1988 1988 1991 |
| Secretary of Consumer Affairs | Paula W. Gold Mary Ann Walsh |
1983 1989 1989 1991 |
| Secretary of Human Services | Manuel C. Carballo Philip W. Johnston |
1983 1984 1984 1991 |
| Secretary of Elder Affairs | Richard H. Rowland Paul J. Lanzikos |
1983 1987 1987 1991 |
| Secretary of Labor | Paul Eustace | 1983 1991 |
| Secretary of Administration & Finance | Frank Keefe L. Edward Lashman |
1983 1988 1988 1991 |
| Secretary of Public Safety | Charles V. Barry | 1983 1991 |
| Secretary of Economic Affairs | Evelyn Murphy Evelyn Murphy Evelyn Murphy was the Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts from 1987 to 1991, being the first woman in the history of the state to hold a constitutional office... Joseph Alviani Grady Hedgespeth Alden S. Raine |
1983 1986 1986 1989 1989 1989 1989 1991 |
| Secretary of Energy | Sharon Pollard Sharon Pollard Sharon M. Pollard is an American politician who represented the Third Essex District in the Massachusetts Senate from 1977 to 1983, served as Massachusetts Secretary of Energy from 1983 to 1989, and was Mayor of Methuen, Massachusetts from 2000 to 2006.... |
1983 1989 |
1988 presidential candidate
Using the phenomenon termed the "Massachusetts MiracleMassachusetts Miracle
The term "Massachusetts Miracle" refers to a period of economic growth in the state of Massachusetts during most of the 1980s. Previous to this, the state had been hit hard by deindustrialization and resulting unemployment. The growth was heavily centered in high-tech industry and financial...
" to promote his campaign, Dukakis sought the Democratic Party nomination for President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
in the 1988 elections
United States presidential election, 1988
The United States presidential election of 1988 featured no incumbent president, as President Ronald Reagan was unable to seek re-election after serving the maximum two terms allowed by the Twenty-second Amendment. Reagan's Vice President, George H. W. Bush, won the Republican nomination, while the...
, prevailing over a primary field that included Jesse Jackson
Jesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to...
, Dick Gephardt
Dick Gephardt
Richard Andrew "Dick" Gephardt is a lobbyist and former prominent American politician of the Democratic Party. Gephardt served as a U.S. Representative from Missouri from January 3, 1977, until January 3, 2005, serving as House Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995, and as Minority Leader from 1995 to...
, Paul Simon
Paul Simon (politician)
Paul Martin Simon was an American politician from Illinois. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 1985 and United States Senate from 1985 to 1997. He was a member of the Democratic Party...
, Gary Hart
Gary Hart
Gary Hart is an American politician, lawyer, author, professor and commentator. He served as a Democratic Senator representing Colorado , and ran in the U.S...
, Joe Biden
Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. is the 47th and current Vice President of the United States, serving under President Barack Obama...
and Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
, among others. Dukakis's success at the primary level has been largely attributed to John Sasso
John Sasso
John Sasso is an American Democratic political operative who was behind the failed 1988 election bid by Michael Dukakis.-Life and career:Sasso was born in New Jersey...
, his campaign manager. Sasso, however, was one of two aides dismissed (Paul Tully was the other) when a video showing plagiarism by Biden (D-Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
) was made public and an embarrassed Biden was forced to withdraw from the race. This situation got uglier when Tully implied that it was Dick Gephardt's campaign (as opposed to Dukakis's campaign) that actually passed along the damaging information on Biden.
Despite the claims that Dukakis always "turned the other cheek", he did run a particularly effective commercial against Gephardt that featured a tumbler doing somersault
Somersault
A somersault is an acrobatic exercise in which a person does a full 360° flip, moving the feet over the head. A somersault can be performed either forwards, backwards, or sideways and can be executed in the air or on the ground...
s while the announcer said, "Dick Gephardt has been flip-flopping over the issues." Dukakis finished third in the Iowa caucuses and then won the New Hampshire primary
New Hampshire primary
The New Hampshire primary is the first in a series of nationwide political party primary elections held in the United States every four years , as part of the process of choosing the Democratic and Republican nominees for the presidential elections to be held the subsequent November.Although only a...
by more than 16 points, with Gephardt finishing second. Dukakis finished first in Minnesota and second in South Dakota, before winning Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, and Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
on March 8, 1988, the day of the "Super Tuesday
Super Tuesday
In the United States, Super Tuesday, in general, refers to the Tuesday in February or March of a presidential election year when the greatest number of states hold primary elections to select delegates to national conventions at which each party's presidential candidates are officially nominated...
" series of primaries. As his competition continued to fade, Dukakis wound up with a seven-week stretch of one-on-one elections between himself and civil rights leader Jesse Jackson
Jesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to...
. Dukakis lost the Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
caucus to Jackson but then prevailed by margins of two to one in Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, and New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. Within a week of clinching the nomination on June 7, 1988, Dukakis had yielded to political pressure from Jackson by agreeing that the Democratic Party platform would include a commitment to declare apartheid South Africa a 'terrorist state'.
Touching on his immigrant roots, Dukakis used Neil Diamond
Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades from the 1960s until the present....
's ode to immigrants, "America
America (Neil Diamond song)
"America" is the name of a patriotic song written and originally recorded by Neil Diamond, released in 1980 as part of The Jazz Singer soundtrack album...
", as the theme song for his campaign. Famed composer John Williams
John Williams
John Towner Williams is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career spanning almost six decades, he has composed some of the most recognizable film scores in the history of motion pictures, including the Star Wars saga, Jaws, Superman, the Indiana Jones films, E.T...
wrote "Fanfare for Michael Dukakis" in 1988 at the request of Dukakis's father-in-law, Harry Ellis Dickson. The piece was premiered under the baton of Dickson (then the Associate Conductor of the Boston Pops) at that year's Democratic National Convention
1988 Democratic National Convention
The 1988 National Convention of the U.S. Democratic Party was held at The Omni in Atlanta, Georgia from July 18–July 21, 1988 to select a candidate for the 1988 United States presidential election. At the convention Gov. Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts was nominated for President and...
in Atlanta.
During the general election campaign, Vice President George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
, the Republican nominee, criticized Dukakis for his traditionally liberal positions on many issues. These included Dukakis's statement during the primary season that he was "a card-carrying member of" the American Civil Liberties Union
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
, his veto
Veto
A veto, Latin for "I forbid", is the power of an officer of the state to unilaterally stop an official action, especially enactment of a piece of legislation...
of legislation requiring public school teachers to lead pupils in the Pledge of Allegiance
Pledge of Allegiance
The Pledge of Allegiance of the United States is an expression of loyalty to the federal flag and the republic of the United States of America, originally composed by Christian Socialist Francis Bellamy in 1892 and formally adopted by Congress as the pledge in 1942...
, and his opposition to the resumption of capital punishment in the United States
Capital punishment in the United States
Capital punishment in the United States, in practice, applies only for aggravated murder and more rarely for felony murder. Capital punishment was a penalty at common law, for many felonies, and was enforced in all of the American colonies prior to the Declaration of Independence...
.
Dukakis had trouble with the personality that he projected to the voting public. His reserved and stoic nature was easily interpreted to be a lack of passion (which went against the ethnic stereotype of his Greek American
Greek American
Greek Americans are Americans of Greek descent also described as Hellenic descent. According to the 2007 U.S. Census Bureau estimation, there were 1,380,088 people of Greek ancestry in the United States, while the State Department mentions that around 3,000,000 Americans claim to be of Greek descent...
heritage). Dukakis was often referred to as "Zorba the Clerk
Zorba the Greek
Zorba the Greek is a 1964 film based on the novel Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis. The film was directed by Cypriot Michael Cacoyannis and the title character was played by Anthony Quinn...
". Nevertheless, Dukakis is considered to have done well in the first presidential debate with George Bush. In the second debate, Dukakis had been suffering from the flu and spent quite a bit of the day in bed. His performance was poor and played to his reputation as being cold.
During the campaign, Dukakis's mental health became an issue when he refused to release his full medical history and there were, according to The New York Times, "persistent suggestions" that he had undergone psychiatric treatment in the past. The issue even caused then-President Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
, when asked whether the Democratic Presidential nominee should make his medical records public, to quip with a grin: "Look, I'm not going to pick on an invalid." Twenty minutes later, Reagan stated that he "attempted to make a joke in response to a question" and that "I think I was kidding, but I don't think I should have said what I said." Reagan continued, "I do believe that the medical history of a President is something that people have a right to know, and I speak from personal experience." Dr. Gerald R. Plotkin, Dukakis's physician since 1970, stated that "[Dukakis] has had no psychological symptoms, complaints or treatment."
Prison furlough program issue
The most controversial criticism against Dukakis involved his support for a prison furloughFurlough
In the United States a furlough is a temporary unpaid leave of some employees due to special needs of a company, which may be due to economic conditions at the specific employer or in the economy as a whole...
program. The original State inmate furlough program, for which convicted first-degree murderers were ineligible, was actually signed into law by Republican Governor Francis W. Sargent in 1972. After the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that this right extended to first-degree murderers, the Massachusetts legislature quickly passed a bill prohibiting furloughs for such inmates. During his first term as Governor, he had vetoed a bill that would have stopped furloughs for first-degree murderers. During his second term, that program resulted in the release of convicted murderer William "Willie" Horton
Willie Horton
William R. "Willie" Horton is an American convicted felon who, while serving a life sentence for murder, without the possibility of parole, was the beneficiary of a Massachusetts weekend furlough program...
, who committed a rape and assault in Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
after being furloughed. Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
was the first candidate to publicly raise the furlough issue and asked about "weekend passes for convicted criminals" in a debate held in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
prior to the Democratic primary in that state, although Gore never mentioned Horton by name or that he had broken into a house, raped a woman, and beaten her husband.
George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
mentioned Horton by name in a speech in June 1988, and his campaign brought up the Horton case. A conservative political action committee
Political action committee
In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a...
affiliated with the Bush campaign, the National Security Political Action Committee, aired an ad entitled "Weekend Passes", which used a mug shot
Mug shot
A mug shot, mugshot or booking photograph, is a photographic portrait taken after one is arrested. The purpose of the mug shot is to allow law enforcement to have a photographic record of the arrested individual to allow for identification by victims and investigators. Most mug shots are two-part,...
image of Horton. The Bush campaign refused to repudiate it. That ad campaign
Advertising campaign
An advertising campaign is a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme which make up an integrated marketing communication...
was followed by a separate Bush campaign ad, "Revolving Door
Revolving Door (television advertisement)
"Revolving Door" is a famous negative television commercial made for the 1988 United States Presidential Campaign. Along with the Willie Horton "Weekend Passes" advertisement, it is considered to be a prime factor in George H.W. Bush's defeat of Michael Dukakis The ad was produced by political...
", criticizing Dukakis over the furlough program without mentioning Horton. The legislature canceled the program during Dukakis's last term.
Views on capital punishment
The issue of capital punishment came up in the October 13, 1988, debate between the two presidential nominees. Because she knew the Willie HortonWillie Horton
William R. "Willie" Horton is an American convicted felon who, while serving a life sentence for murder, without the possibility of parole, was the beneficiary of a Massachusetts weekend furlough program...
issue would be brought up, Dukakis's campaign manager, Susan Estrich
Susan Estrich
Susan Estrich is an American lawyer, professor, author, political operative, feminist advocate, and political commentator for Fox News.-Early life:...
, had prepared with Michael Dukakis an answer highlighting the candidate's empathy for victims of crime, noting the beating of his father in a robbery and the death of his brother in a hit-and-run car accident. However, when Bernard Shaw
Bernard Shaw (journalist)
Bernard Shaw is a retired American journalist and former news anchor for CNN from 1980 until his retirement in March 2001.-Early years:...
, the moderator of the debate, asked Dukakis, "Governor, if Kitty Dukakis
[his wife] were raped and murdered, would you favor an irrevocable death penalty for the killer?" Dukakis replied, "No, I don't, and I think you know that I've opposed the death penalty during all of my life", and explained his stance. After the debate, Dukakis told Estrich he was sorry and didn't realize it was that question. Many observers felt Dukakis's answer lacked the passion one would expect of a person discussing a loved one's rape and death. Many– including the candidate himself– believe that this, in part, cost Dukakis the election, as his poll numbers dropped from 49% to 42% nationally that night. Other commentators thought the question itself was unfair, in that it injected an irrelevant emotional element into the discussion of a policy issue and forced the candidate to make a difficult choice.
The Pledge of Allegiance issue
The Bush campaign also criticized Dukakis for vetoing a bill that would have required recitation of the Pledge of AllegiancePledge of Allegiance
The Pledge of Allegiance of the United States is an expression of loyalty to the federal flag and the republic of the United States of America, originally composed by Christian Socialist Francis Bellamy in 1892 and formally adopted by Congress as the pledge in 1942...
in Massachusetts classrooms. Dukakis felt the law was unconstitutional (the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
held that compulsory recitation of the Pledge was unconstitutional in the 1943 case, West Virginia v. Barnette
West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette
West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 , is a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States that held that the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution protected students from being forced to salute the American flag and say the...
).
Tank/helmet controversy
Strategic Defense Initiative
The Strategic Defense Initiative was proposed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan on March 23, 1983 to use ground and space-based systems to protect the United States from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic missiles. The initiative focused on strategic defense rather than the prior strategic...
program, which he promised to weaken (although not cancel). In response to this, Dukakis orchestrated what would become the key image of his campaign, although it turned out quite differently from what he intended. On September 13, 1988 Dukakis visited the General Dynamics
General Dynamics
General Dynamics Corporation is a U.S. defense conglomerate formed by mergers and divestitures, and as of 2008 it is the fifth largest defense contractor in the world. Its headquarters are in West Falls Church , unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, in the Falls Church area.The company has...
Land Systems plant at 38500 Mound Road in Sterling Heights, Michigan
Sterling Heights, Michigan
Sterling Heights is a city in Macomb County of the U.S. state of Michigan, and one of Detroit's core suburbs. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 129,699...
to take part in a photo op
Photo op
A photo op , short for photograph opportunity , is an opportunity to take a memorable and effective photograph of a politician, a celebrity, or a notable event...
in an M1 Abrams
M1 Abrams
The M1 Abrams is a third-generation main battle tank produced in the United States. It is named after General Creighton Abrams, former Army Chief of Staff and Commander of US military forces in Vietnam from 1968 to 1972. The M1 is a well armed, heavily armored, and highly mobile tank designed for...
tank. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
, Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
, had been photographed in a similar situation in 1986, riding in a Challenger
Challenger 1 tank
The British FV4030/4 Challenger 1, was the main battle tank of the British Army from 1983 to the mid 1990s, when it was superseded by the Challenger 2. It is also currently used by the Jordanian Armed Forces as their main battle tank after heavy modifications...
tank while wearing a scarf; although somewhat out of character, the image was effective and helped Thatcher's reelection prospects. Dukakis's "tank moment" was much less successful, however. Footage of Dukakis was used in television ads by the Bush campaign, as evidence that Dukakis would not make a good commander-in-chief
Commander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
, and "Dukakis in the tank" remains shorthand for backfired public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
outings. Although he served in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, Dukakis was widely mocked by his opponents for what they characterized as martial posturing and a silly image.
Election defeat
Dukakis's vice presidentialVice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
candidate was Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Lloyd Bentsen
Lloyd Bentsen
Lloyd Millard Bentsen, Jr. was a four-term United States senator from Texas and the Democratic Party nominee for Vice President in 1988 on the Michael Dukakis ticket. He also served in the House of Representatives from 1949 to 1955. In his later political life, he was Chairman of the Senate...
of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. The Dukakis/Bentsen ticket lost the election in an Electoral College landslide to George H.W. Bush, carrying only 10 states and the District of Columbia
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. Dukakis himself blames his defeat on the time he spent doing gubernatorial work in Massachusetts during the few weeks following the Democratic Convention. Many believed he should have been campaigning across the country. During this time, his 17-point lead in opinion polls completely disappeared, as his lack of visibility allowed Bush to define the issues of the campaign.
Despite Dukakis's loss, his performance was a marked improvement over the previous two Democratic efforts. Dukakis made some strong showings in states that had voted for Republicans Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
. He also scored victories in states like Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, and Dukakis's home state of Massachusetts; Walter Mondale
Walter Mondale
Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale is an American Democratic Party politician, who served as the 42nd Vice President of the United States , under President Jimmy Carter, and as a United States Senator for Minnesota...
had lost all three, and since then, all three states have remained in the Democratic column for each subsequent presidential election. He swept Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, winning it by 10 points, an impressive feat in a state that had voted Republican in the last five elections. He got 43% of the vote in Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, a surprising showing in the home state of 1936 Republican presidential nominee Alf Landon
Alf Landon
Alfred Mossman "Alf" Landon was an American Republican politician, who served as the 26th Governor of Kansas from 1933–1937. He was best known for being the Republican Party's nominee for President of the United States, defeated in a landslide by Franklin D...
and future Republican nominee Bob Dole
Bob Dole
Robert Joseph "Bob" Dole is an American attorney and politician. Dole represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996, was Gerald Ford's Vice Presidential running mate in the 1976 presidential election, and was Senate Majority Leader from 1985 to 1987 and in 1995 and 1996...
. In another surprising showing, he received 47% of the vote in South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
. In Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, Dukakis racked up a close 46% of the vote in a state that had gone over 60% Republican four years earlier. Dukakis's relative strength in farm states was no doubt due to the serious economic difficulties these states were facing in the 1980s, and it was the strongest showing in the Midwest for a Democrat since 1976.
Although Dukakis cut into the Republican hold in the Midwest, he failed to dent the emerging GOP stronghold in the South that had been forming since 1964 with a temporary reprieve with Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
. He lost most of the South in a landslide, with Bush's totals reaching around 60% in most states. He was able to hold Bush to 55% in Texas, though this may have been due to Lloyd Bentsen
Lloyd Bentsen
Lloyd Millard Bentsen, Jr. was a four-term United States senator from Texas and the Democratic Party nominee for Vice President in 1988 on the Michael Dukakis ticket. He also served in the House of Representatives from 1949 to 1955. In his later political life, he was Chairman of the Senate...
's presence on the ticket. He also carried most of the southern-central parishes of Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, despite losing the state. He held onto the border state of West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, and he captured 48% of the vote in Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. He also carried 41% in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, a bigger share than any Democrat since Jimmy Carter.
Rust Belt
The Rust Belt is a term that gained currency in the 1980s as the informal description of an area straddling the Midwestern and Northeastern United States, in which local economies traditionally garnered an increased manufacturing sector to add jobs and corporate profits...
, Dukakis also performed poorly, though he lost some states by close margins. He lost Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, and New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. He won his home state of Massachusetts by only eight points, perhaps due to the unrelenting criticism of his record as governor. Dukakis's performance in the traditionally Democratic Northeast was also poor: he lost Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, and Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
. The only other New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
state he won was Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
. Dukakis's biggest prize was winning New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, the second-largest state in the electoral college
Electoral college
An electoral college is a set of electors who are selected to elect a candidate to a particular office. Often these represent different organizations or entities, with each organization or entity represented by a particular number of electors or with votes weighted in a particular way...
. In the Pacific Northwest, Dukakis did much better, capturing both Washington and Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
but losing California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
.
Dukakis won 41,809,476 votes in the popular vote. He also received 40% or more in the following states: Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Vermont.
Overall, the 1988 election showed a marked improvement in the popular vote for the Democrats. While he lost the popular vote, Dukakis's margin of loss (7.8%) was narrower than Jimmy Carter's in 1980 (9.7%) or Walter Mondale's in 1984 (18.2%). However, Dukakis was and is still regarded as a failed candidate, as he had enjoyed large summer leads and his drop in the polls can be attributed to his failed campaigning more than anything else.
In 2008, he reflected on his defeat during an interview with Katie Couric
Katie Couric
Katherine Anne "Katie" Couric is an American journalist and author. She serves as Special Correspondent for ABC News, contributing to ABC World News, Nightline, 20/20, Good Morning America, This Week and primetime news specials...
, in which he said he "owe[d] the American people an apology" because "if I had beaten the old man
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
, we never would have heard of the kid
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, and we wouldn't be in this mess."
Dukakis appears in the 2008 award-winning documentary on Lee Atwater
Lee Atwater
Harvey LeRoy "Lee" Atwater was an American political consultant and strategist to the Republican Party. He was an advisor of U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush and Chairman of the Republican National Committee.-Childhood and early life:...
, Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story
Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story
Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story is a 2008 U.S. documentary on the campaign tactics used by Lee Atwater while working on the George H.W. Bush 1988 presidential campaign, and how those tactics have transformed presidential campaigns in the United States....
.
After the 1988 election
His final two years as governor were marked by increased criticism of his policies and by significant tax increases to cover expanded government and the economic effects of the U.S. economy's "soft landing" at the end of the 1980s and the recession of 1990. He did not run for a fourth term in 1990; Boston UniversityBoston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
President John Silber
John Silber
John Robert Silber is an American academician and former candidate for public office. From 1971 to 1996 he was President of Boston University and from 1996 to 2003 Chancellor of the University. Since 2003 he has been its President Emeritus. In 1990, Silber took a leave of absence from the...
won the Democratic nomination, and lost the general election to William Weld
William Weld
William Floyd Weld is a former governor of the US state of Massachusetts. He served as that state's 68th governor from 1991 to 1997. From 1981 to 1988, he was a federal prosecutor in the United States Justice Department...
.
After the end of his term, he served on the board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
for Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
, and became a professor of political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
at Northeastern University in Massachusetts, visiting professor of political science at Loyola Marymount University
Loyola Marymount University
Loyola Marymount University is a comprehensive co-educational private Roman Catholic university in the Jesuit and Marymount traditions located in Los Angeles, California, United States...
, and visiting professor in the Department of Public Policy at the School of Public Affairs at UCLA
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
. Along with a number of other notable Greek Americans, he is a founding member of The Next Generation Initiative
The Next Generation Initiative
The Next Generation Initiative is an independent non-profit educational foundation focused on helping students gain real-world skills and experience that will advance their education, and serve them as future leaders in their communities and in the broader public arena.The Initiative works with...
, a leadership program aimed at getting students involved in public affairs. In November 2008, Northeastern named its new Center for Urban and Regional Policy after Michael Dukakis and his wife Kitty. He continued to talk in media interviews about the "negative" 1988 Bush campaign, beginning with his press conference on the day after the election, continuing throughout Bush's term, and also subsequent to Bush's defeat in the 1992 election
United States presidential election, 1992
The United States presidential election of 1992 had three major candidates: Incumbent Republican President George Bush; Democratic Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, and independent Texas businessman Ross Perot....
.
Dukakis has recently developed a strong passion for grassroots
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
campaigning and the appointment of precinct captains to coordinate local campaigning activities, two strategies he feels are essential for the Democratic Party to compete effectively in both local and national elections. In 2006, he and Kitty worked to help Democratic candidate Deval Patrick
Deval Patrick
Deval Laurdine Patrick is the 71st and current Governor of Massachusetts. A member of the Democratic Party, Patrick served as an Assistant United States Attorney General under President Bill Clinton...
in his efforts to become governor of Massachusetts. He also has taken a strong role in advocating for effective public transportation and high speed rail as a solution to automobile congestion and the lack of space at airports. He has recently been an advocate for the extended learning time initiative in public schools.
In August, 2009, the 75-year old Dukakis was mentioned as one of two leading candidates as a possible interim successor to Ted Kennedy
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...
in the U.S. Senate. Gov. Patrick named Paul G. Kirk, the other leading candidate and favorite of the Kennedy family who promised not to run in the election, to fill the seat instead.
Family
Dukakis is married to Katharine D. (Kitty) Dukakis. The couple's children are John, Andrea, and Kara. Kara is married to David OnekDavid Onek
David Onek is a Senior Fellow and founding Executive Director at the Berkeley Center for Criminal Justice. He is also the host of the . Onek is currently running for District Attorney of San Francisco.-Career:...
. During the second presidential debate on October 13, 1988, in Los Angeles, Dukakis revealed that he and his wife had had another child, who died about twenty minutes after birth.
The Dukakises continue to reside in Michael's boyhood home in Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston and Newton. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 58,732.-Etymology:...
, but live in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
during the winter while he teaches at UCLA
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
. Had Dukakis been elected, he would have been only the second US President to have had two immigrant parents. Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
is the only president to have been born of two immigrants.
He is the cousin of actress Olympia Dukakis
Olympia Dukakis
Olympia Dukakis is an American actress. In 1987, she won an Academy Award, BAFTA, and a Golden Globe for her performance in Moonstruck...
.
Electoral history
Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1974- Michael Dukakis (D) - 992,284 (53.50%)
- Francis W. SargentFrancis W. SargentFrancis William Sargent was the 64th Governor of Massachusetts from 1969 to 1975. Born in 1915 in Hamilton, Massachusetts, he was known for his sharp wit and self-deprecating manner...
(R) (inc.) - 784,353 (42.29%) - Leo F. Kahian (American) - 63,083 (3.40%)
- Donald Gurewitz (Socialist WorkersSocialist Workers Party (United States)The Socialist Workers Party is a far-left political organization in the United States. The group places a priority on "solidarity work" to aid strikes and is strongly supportive of Cuba...
) - 15,011 (0.81%)
Democratic Massachusetts gubernatorial primary, 1978
- Edward J. KingEdward J. KingEdward Joseph "Ed" King was the 66th Governor of the U.S. state of Massachusetts from 1979 to 1983.Born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, and a graduate of Boston College and Bentley College, King played professional football as a guard with the All-America Football Conference Buffalo Bisons from 1948 to...
- 442,174 (51.07%) - Michael Dukakis (inc.) - 365,417 (42.21%)
- Barbara Ackermann - 58,220 (6.72%)
Democratic Massachusetts gubernatorial primary, 1982
- Michael Dukakis - 631,911 (53.50%)
- Edward J. KingEdward J. KingEdward Joseph "Ed" King was the 66th Governor of the U.S. state of Massachusetts from 1979 to 1983.Born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, and a graduate of Boston College and Bentley College, King played professional football as a guard with the All-America Football Conference Buffalo Bisons from 1948 to...
(inc.) - 549,335 (46.51%)
Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1982
- Michael Dukakis (D) - 1,219,109 (59.48%)
- John Winthrop Sears (R) - 749,679 (36.57%)
- Frank Rich (independent) - 63,068 (3.08%)
- Rebecca Shipman (LibertarianLibertarian Party (United States)The Libertarian Party is the third largest and fastest growing political party in the United States. The political platform of the Libertarian Party reflects its brand of libertarianism, favoring minimally regulated, laissez-faire markets, strong civil liberties, minimally regulated migration...
) - 17,918 (0.87%)
Democratic Massachusetts gubernatorial primary, 1986
- Michael Dukakis (inc.) - 499,572 (100.00%)
Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 1986
- Michael Dukakis (D) (inc.) - 1,157,786 (68.75%)
- George KariotisGeorge KariotisGeorge S. Kariotis is a businessman who was the Republican Party nominee for Governor of Massachusetts in 1986.Kariotis is the son of Greek immigrants. He graduated from Northeastern University in 1940, and then served in the United States Navy during World War II. In 1962, he founded Alpha...
(R) - 525,364 (31.20%) - Scattering - 929 (0.06%)
1988 Democratic presidential primaries
United States presidential election, 1988
The United States presidential election of 1988 featured no incumbent president, as President Ronald Reagan was unable to seek re-election after serving the maximum two terms allowed by the Twenty-second Amendment. Reagan's Vice President, George H. W. Bush, won the Republican nomination, while the...
- Michael Dukakis - 9,898,750 (42.51%)
- Jesse JacksonJesse JacksonJesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to...
- 6,788,991 (29.15%) - Al GoreAl GoreAlbert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
- 3,185,806 (13.68%) - Dick GephardtDick GephardtRichard Andrew "Dick" Gephardt is a lobbyist and former prominent American politician of the Democratic Party. Gephardt served as a U.S. Representative from Missouri from January 3, 1977, until January 3, 2005, serving as House Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995, and as Minority Leader from 1995 to...
- 1,399,041 (6.01%) - Paul M. SimonPaul Simon (politician)Paul Martin Simon was an American politician from Illinois. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 1985 and United States Senate from 1985 to 1997. He was a member of the Democratic Party...
- 1,082,960 (4.65%) - Gary HartGary HartGary Hart is an American politician, lawyer, author, professor and commentator. He served as a Democratic Senator representing Colorado , and ran in the U.S...
- 415,716 (1.79%) - Unpledged - 250,307 (1.08%)
1988 Democratic National Convention
1988 Democratic National Convention
The 1988 National Convention of the U.S. Democratic Party was held at The Omni in Atlanta, Georgia from July 18–July 21, 1988 to select a candidate for the 1988 United States presidential election. At the convention Gov. Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts was nominated for President and...
- Michael Dukakis - 2,877 (70.09%)
- Jesse JacksonJesse JacksonJesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to...
- 1,219 (29.70%) - Richard H. StallingsRichard H. StallingsRichard Howard Stallings represented the Idaho Second District in the House of Representatives from 1985 to 1993. Stallings also served in several other state and local political offices over the course of a 22-year political career.Stallings earned degrees from Weber State College, Utah State...
- 3 (0.07%) - Joe BidenJoe BidenJoseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. is the 47th and current Vice President of the United States, serving under President Barack Obama...
- 2 (0.05%) - Dick GephardtDick GephardtRichard Andrew "Dick" Gephardt is a lobbyist and former prominent American politician of the Democratic Party. Gephardt served as a U.S. Representative from Missouri from January 3, 1977, until January 3, 2005, serving as House Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995, and as Minority Leader from 1995 to...
- 2 (0.05%) - Lloyd BentsenLloyd BentsenLloyd Millard Bentsen, Jr. was a four-term United States senator from Texas and the Democratic Party nominee for Vice President in 1988 on the Michael Dukakis ticket. He also served in the House of Representatives from 1949 to 1955. In his later political life, he was Chairman of the Senate...
- 1 (0.02%) - Gary HartGary HartGary Hart is an American politician, lawyer, author, professor and commentator. He served as a Democratic Senator representing Colorado , and ran in the U.S...
- 1 (0.02%)
United States presidential election, 1988
United States presidential election, 1988
The United States presidential election of 1988 featured no incumbent president, as President Ronald Reagan was unable to seek re-election after serving the maximum two terms allowed by the Twenty-second Amendment. Reagan's Vice President, George H. W. Bush, won the Republican nomination, while the...
- George H. W. BushGeorge H. W. BushGeorge Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
/Dan QuayleDan QuayleJames Danforth "Dan" Quayle served as the 44th Vice President of the United States, serving with President George H. W. Bush . He served as a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from the state of Indiana....
(R) - 48,886,597 (53.4%) and 426 electoral votes (40 states carried) - Michael Dukakis/Lloyd BentsenLloyd BentsenLloyd Millard Bentsen, Jr. was a four-term United States senator from Texas and the Democratic Party nominee for Vice President in 1988 on the Michael Dukakis ticket. He also served in the House of Representatives from 1949 to 1955. In his later political life, he was Chairman of the Senate...
(D) - 41,809,476 (45.6%) and 111 electoral votes (10 states and D.C. carried) - Lloyd BentsenLloyd BentsenLloyd Millard Bentsen, Jr. was a four-term United States senator from Texas and the Democratic Party nominee for Vice President in 1988 on the Michael Dukakis ticket. He also served in the House of Representatives from 1949 to 1955. In his later political life, he was Chairman of the Senate...
/Michael Dukakis (D) - 1 electoral vote (faithless electorFaithless electorIn United States presidential elections, a faithless elector is a member of the Electoral College who does not vote for the candidate they have pledged to vote for...
) - Ron PaulRon PaulRonald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...
/Andre MarrouAndre MarrouAndre Verne Marrou is an American political figure, affiliated with the Libertarian Party.Born in Nixon, Texas, he graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1962...
(Libertarian) - 431,750 (0.5%) - Lenora FulaniLenora FulaniLenora Branch Fulani is an American psychologist, psychotherapist, and political activist. She may be best known for her presidential campaigns and development of youth programs serving minority communities in the New York City area...
(New AllianceNew Alliance PartyThe New Alliance Party was an American political party formed in New York City in 1979. Its immediate precursor was an umbrella organization known as the Labor Community Alliance for Change, whose member groups included the coalition of Grass Roots Women and the New York City Unemployed and...
) - 217,221 (0.2%) - Others - 249,642 (0.3%)
Depiction in media
Dukakis is an interview subject in the 1994 film, Old Warrior, directed by Joshua SeftelJoshua Seftel
Joshua Seftel is an American filmmaker. Born in Schenectady, New York, Seftel graduated from Tufts University in the class of 1990 as a pre-med and French literature major. He currently lives in New York City and is represented by Creative Artists Agency in Los Angeles, California...
.
A picture of Dukakis is featured in The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear
The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear is a 1991 comedy film starring Leslie Nielsen as the comically bumbling Police Lt. Frank Drebin of Police Squad!. Priscilla Presley plays the role of Jane, with O.J. Simpson as Nordberg and George Kennedy as police captain Ed Hocken...
. It hangs on the walls inside "The Blue Note" bar, next to photos depicting notable disasters in history. This "disaster" reference is implied again at the end of the film, when Frank Drebin shares his dream of "a world where the Democrats will put somebody up there worth voting for."
Dukakis has a cameo
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
in the 2007 direct to video film, The Junior Defenders
The Junior Defenders
The Junior Defenders is a 2007 direct-to-video comedy-fantasy film from Warner Bros. starring Ally Sheedy, Brian O'Halloran, Justin Henry and Jason David Frank.-Plot:In the 1970s, a TV show called The Junior Defenders had a big following...
.
He is also mentioned and seen in the 2001 film, Donnie Darko
Donnie Darko
Donnie Darko is a 2001 American psychological thriller film written and directed by Richard Kelly and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, Patrick Swayze, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Noah Wyle, Jena Malone, and Mary McDonnell...
.
In an episode of Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
("The One with the Donor"), Chandler and Monica's friend Zack (portrayed by John Stamos
John Stamos
John Phillip Stamos is an American actor, singer and musician best known for his work in television, especially in his starring role as Jesse Katsopolis on the ABC sitcom Full House. Since the cancellation of that show in 1995, Stamos has appeared in numerous television films and series. From 2006...
) is asked by the couple if he has a history of mental illness in the family, to which he replies: "No, although I did have an uncle who voted for Dukakis".
Further reading
- David NyhanDavid NyhanDavid Nyhan was a journalist and biographer whose op-ed column ran in The Boston Globe newspaper for many years.After working for The Boston Globe for 32 years, he retired in 2001....
. 1988. Duke: The Inside Story of a Political Phenomenon. ISBN 0-446-35454-6 - Stephen J. Ducat. 2004. The Wimp Factor. Boston: Beacon PressBeacon PressBeacon Press is an American non-profit book publisher. Founded in 1854 by the American Unitarian Association, it is currently a department of the Unitarian Universalist Association.Beacon Press is a member of the Association of American University Presses....
. ISBN 0-8070-4344-3. pp. 84–99. - Margaret CarlsonMargaret CarlsonMargaret Carlson is an American journalist and a columnist for Bloomberg News.-Biography:She is best known for being the first female columnist at TIME magazine. Carlson joined Time in January 1988 from The New Republic, where she was managing editor; in 1994, she became the first female columnist...
. June 20, 1988. A Tale of Two Childhoods. Time Magazine.
External links
- Official Commonwealth of Massachusetts Governors Biography
- Michael S. Dukakis at the Northeastern University Department of Political Science
- Michael Dukakis at the Center for Politics
- Michael Dukakis at UCLA
- The Michael S. Dukakis Presidential Campaign records, 1962–1989 (bulk 1987–1988) are located in the Northeastern University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections Department, Boston, MA.
- The Joseph D. Warren papers, 1972–2003 (bulk 1980–1990) are located in the Northeastern University Libraries, Archives and Special Collections Department, Boston, MA.
- Dukakis discusses presidential debates as reported in the Harvard Law RecordHarvard Law RecordThe Harvard Law Record is an independent, biweekly student-edited newspaper based at Harvard Law School. Founded in 1946, it is the oldest law school newspaper in the United States.-Characteristics:...
- Dukakis mentioned on MSNBC's Morning Joe: The Scoop on 'Boogie Man'