Lee Atwater
Lee Atwater was a prominent American political strategist known for his significant role in shaping Republican campaigns during the 1980s. Originating from the Deep South, Atwater understood American cultural dynamics and leveraged this insight to achieve successes in various state campaigns, particularly for South Carolina senator Strom Thurmond. He gained national prominence as the southern regional coordinator for Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential campaign, later serving as deputy political director in the Reagan White House.
Atwater's strategic prowess came to the forefront during George H. W. Bush's 1988 presidential campaign, where he employed a mix of traditional and populist themes to engage swing voters. Notably, he utilized racially charged tactics, exemplified by the controversial Willie Horton ad, to portray opponent Michael Dukakis as weak on crime. This approach contributed significantly to Bush's electoral success and established Atwater as a key figure in modern political consulting. His tactics influenced subsequent political campaigns, shifting the focus toward personal attacks and emotional appeals rather than policy discussions. Atwater's legacy continues to resonate in contemporary political strategy, demonstrating the lasting impact of his methods on American electoral politics.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Lee Atwater
- Born: February 27, 1951
- Birthplace: Atlanta, Georgia
- Died: March 29, 1991
- Place of death: Washington, D.C
A pioneer in the business of political consulting and the manager of George H. W. Bush’s 1988 presidential campaign, Atwater was responsible for bringing a highly personal and confrontational style of negative campaigning to the forefront of American politics.
A charismatic political strategist who spent his formative years in the Deep South, Lee Atwater capitalized on his innate ability to understand American cultural sensibilities and political trends in order to become one of the foremost political strategists of the 1980’s. Following his successes in a number of state campaigns, including serving as the political director for Dixiecrat-turned-Republican senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, Atwater achieved national recognition for his work as the southern regional coordinator of Ronald Reagan’s 1980 presidential campaign. Following the Republican victory in that race, President Reagan named Atwater White House deputy political director, a post he held for the first four years of the Reagan administration. In 1984, following the conclusion of President Reagan’s successful reelection campaign, Atwater returned to the private sector, where he merged his boutique political consulting firm with that of the larger company of Black, Manafort, and Stone.
Shortly after Atwater left the Reagan White House, Vice President George H. W. Bush asked him to manage his 1988 presidential campaign. In crafting a campaign strategy for Bush and his running mate, Indiana senator Dan Quayle, Atwater relied on many of the strategies he had used successfully during his earlier campaigns. Those strategies included embracing a combination of traditional and populist ideas and values to appeal to swing voters who subscribed to those values. Thus, Bush and Quayle campaigned by advocating for strong defense, limited government, low taxes, and school prayer.
Bush and Quayle were opposed in the presidential race by Democrats Michael Dukakis—the governor of Massachusetts—and his vice presidential running mate, Texas senator Lloyd Bentsen. Atwater portrayed Dukakis and Bentsen as captives of an East Coast liberal establishment that was out of touch with ordinary Americans. The most notable part of the 1988 campaign was Atwater’s tactical use of race to depict Governor Dukakis as being weak on crime. Atwater and his colleagues created a television commercial featuring a convicted African American murderer named William Horton. Horton had been serving a life sentence in a Massachusetts penitentiary when he was granted a weekend-long furlough in 1986 under a controversial Massachusetts state law. He did not return to prison at the end of the weekend, and less than a year later, Horton raped a woman in Maryland. Atwater’s commercial blamed Dukakis for the furlough program and intimated that such episodes would recur under a Dukakis presidency.
The advertisement proved successful in frightening some voters into supporting Bush. Together with Atwater’s other tactics, it helped the Bush-Quayle ticket win the presidency in 1988. Following his electoral victory, President Bush named Atwater chairman of the Republican National Committee in 1989. Atwater became the first political consultant in the history of either party to be named to lead a national political organization.
Impact
Atwater’s approach to political campaigns proved extremely influential. Not only was it partly responsible for the victories of Reagan and, especially, Bush, but it also influenced the strategies and tactics adopted in future campaigns. Such campaigns often became more focused on personal attacks than on policy issues. They concentrated especially on making voters fear one’s opponent rather than cultivating trust of oneself. This approach was certainly not new, nor was it solely the province of the Right, but it did increase both in frequency and in social acceptability following the 1988 campaign. In addition, Atwater helped modernize the business of political consulting, influencing many of the private-sector political strategists and tacticians who followed him. His use of cultural tastes and trends to influence the voting behavior of specific demographics also set a precedent that would continued into the future.
Bibliography
Alterman, Eric. “GOP Chairman Lee Atwater: Playing Hardball.” The New York Times, April 30, 1989.
Oreskes, Michael. “Lee Atwater, Master of Tactics for Bush and G.O.P., Dies at 40.” The New York Times, March 30, 1991.
Parmet, Herbert S. George Bush: The Life of a Lone Star Yankee. Piscataway, N.J.: Transaction, 2000.