Did Dukakis have a chance

[Da2017]

He led by 17 points at one point. He was up against George Hw Bush who was,t really charismatic.

[President Johnson]

The 1988 election was winnable for Democrats, but not with Dukakis. He could have made it closer by running a more competent campaign. He let Bush define him as out-of-touch liberal weak on crime and defense and just not the right man for that time.

I think rank and file Democrats like Lloyd Bentsen, Lawton Chiles, Sam Nunn or Mario Cuomo would have won the election.

[Lincoln Republican]

After the tank, he had no chance.

[S019]

Yes, but he shot himself in the foot, repeatedly

The tank photo-op really hurt him

Then, he allowed Bush to define him on crime, with the Willie Horton fiasco

Then, he gave the most emotionless, heartless answer possible on the death penalty


By the end of the campaign, most of America, saw him as a an East Coast liberal elitist

[Amadeus]

Dukakis was a very good Governor of MA, but he had no idea what he was doing once he began a national campaign. He didn't understand that you have to actually campaign to get elected President (after the convention, he took a month's vacation and cancelled campaign events in order to focus on his job as Governor). Instead of running on the issues (stock market crash, Iran-Contra, debt and deficit) he put forward a bland message of "competence" that didn't win over anyone by election day. His PR was terrible. Aside from the tank fiasco, Dukakis couldn't explain his liberal positions to voters or make himself appear relatable. It's really bad when a millionaire VP makes the son of Greek immigrants look like the out of touch elitist.

He could've won, but he'd have had to do everything differently.

[UnselfconsciousTeff]

He led by 17 points at one point. He was up against George Hw Bush who was,t really charismatic.

The Dukakis campaign was so bad that even Dukakis blamed Dukakis

[Mr. Smith]

Yes. A small iota, and he blew even that.

Unfortunately he came out of a clown car by doing nothing while everyone else took each other out [well except for ironically, Biden]. Trump and Carter fought hard and created movements unlike the orthodoxy, which left them in an excellent place to take on the greater challenge.

[morgankingsley]

He did in the early campaign, picking Bensten helped quite a bit, plus the fact some people were feeling Reagan fatigue. But he just didn't capitalize on anything. He could have won Illinois and Pennsylvania easily, and while that would not have been a win, those were 49 electoral votes within such close grasp that he blew just with the snap of a finger. The other 110 would have been able to eventually follow

[connally68]

Until Bush 41's acceptance speech, Dukakis was actually crushing him. I was in the 8th grade and I vividly watched both conventions. Yes he did actually have a chance. He was the last social leftist to do really well in coal country. He did extremely well in West Virginia and Western Pennsylvania. He crushed Bush in Westmoreland County, Pa. It's the Trump supporter mecca outside of West Virginia. I know i lived there until I was over 30.

[One Term Floridian]

What I'd imagine would happen if Dukakis maintained a strong lead over Bush. But let's be real here, he was going to tank (pun intended) no matter what

[Some of My Best Friends Are Gay]

What I'd imagine would happen if Dukakis maintained a strong lead over Bush. But let's be real here, he was going to tank (pun intended) no matter what

This is a pretty weird map.

[One Term Floridian]

What I'd imagine would happen if Dukakis maintained a strong lead over Bush. But let's be real here, he was going to tank (pun intended) no matter what

This is a pretty weird map.

A pretty weird map for a pretty weird campaign. The Dukakis campaign was seriously trying to contest Oklahoma at one point

[Fuzzy Bear]

Dukakis should NOT have picked Bentsen.  Bentsen was not going to carry Texas for him.  Breaux, Graham, Shelby, Nunn, Hunt, Glenn, and Gephardt would have all been better picks for Dukakis, as would have been Lee Hamilton, who was the guy Dukakis liked the best.

[morgankingsley]

Dukakis should NOT have picked Bentsen.  Bentsen was not going to carry Texas for him.  Breaux, Graham, Shelby, Nunn, Hunt, Glenn, and Gephardt would have all been better picks for Dukakis, as would have been Lee Hamilton, who was the guy Dukakis liked the best.

I brought it up as a good point because Bensten did energize some voters short term and did help with the debates, which may have given Dukakis enough votes to tip Oregon and Washington in the idea that at least the vice president would be good

[One Term Floridian]

If anything Bentsen completely outclassed Dukakis and made him look even more like a joke

[brucejoel99]

Dukakis had a viable path to victory, yes. It relied on him being a good candidate compared to H.W. Bush, who was a lackluster candidate. Bush had the benefit of Reagan's popularity, but wasn't very charismatic himself. Dukakis needed to take advantage of that & run a better, more relatable campaign.

Bush still was in an enviable electoral position, so I wouldn't quite say that Dukakis' loss represents screwing up, so much as just not playing well enough. I'd assign the loss to Bush being in a strong position combined with Dukakis' campaign not being close to good enough.