Michael Dukakis

Politician

• Born: November 3, 1933
• Place of Birth: Brookline, Massachusetts

Dukakis was the first Greek American to win a presidential nomination. His campaign helped define the US public’s perceptions of liberal politicians in the late 1980s and the 1990s.

Politician. Michael Dukakis grew up in a professional middle-class family, the son of Greek immigrants to the United States. His father was a doctor, and his mother was a schoolteacher. Dukakis attended Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, earning a bachelor of arts degree in 1955. He then enlisted in the United States Army, serving as an intelligence analyst. After two years in the Army, he returned to Massachusetts to complete his education. In 1960, Dukakis graduated from Harvard Law School, and he began practicing law in Boston. Three years later, he married Katherine “Kitty” Dickson.

Dukakis began his political career in local government. He went on to serve four terms in the state legislature, from 1962 to 1970, and mounted a failed campaign for lieutenant governor in 1970, before being elected governor of Massachusetts in 1974. His state’s economic woes caused him to lose a bid for reelection four years later. After a few years in academia, Dukakis returned to the governor’s mansion in 1983 and helped bring the state out of economic turmoil. He won two terms, 1982 and 1986, and was named the most effective governor in the nation by the National Governors’ Association in 1986 . In 1988, Dukakis coauthored a book detailing his state’s economic recovery—the so-called Massachusetts Miracle—and touted his abilities as a presidential contender.

The 1988 Presidential Campaign

In 1988, Dukakis entered the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. The crowded field included US Senator Al Gore of Tennessee, former senator Gary Hart of Colorado, and the outspoken preacher and civil rights activist Jesse Jackson. Dukakis secured the nomination and named Senator Lloyd Bentsen of Texas as his running mate. Throughout the campaign, Dukakis described himself as the quintessential realization of the American Dream—a child of immigrants who could become president of the United States. He used the Neil Diamond song “Coming to America” as his campaign theme.

The 1988 presidential race was a contest between the little-known Dukakis and Ronald Reagan’s heir apparent, Vice President George H. W. Bush. Dukakis attempted to run a positive campaign, but he was brutally assailed by the opposition. The Republicans labeled him a typical northeastern, far-left Democrat. A member of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and self-proclaimed “proud liberal,” Dukakis proved unable to respond effectively when the Bush campaign began using the word “liberal” as an accusation. The governor was accused of being soft on crime, and during a presidential debate, he seemed cold and callous when addressing a loaded question about capital punishment. When the moderator asked Dukakis if he would still oppose the death penalty if a criminal raped and murdered his wife, the governor defended his position without emotion. The Republicans also attacked Dukakis’s policies as governor of Massachusetts. Convicted murderer Willie Horton had escaped from the Massachusetts justice system when he was released on a weekend furlough and did not return to prison. He later raped a woman in Maryland and was arrested again. Horton’s story was used repeatedly in anti-Dukakis television commercials.

Throughout the campaign, Dukakis struggled with his image. With his short stature and Greek features, the governor did not impress television viewers, nor was he a passionate speaker. He often seemed cold and aloof to voters. Furthermore, Dukakis lacked real military experience. His Army service paled in comparison to Bush’s exploits as the youngest naval aviator in World War II. In an effort to show the governor as a worthy commander-in- chief, Dukakis was photographed wearing a helmet and driving a tank. Rather than looking presidential, however, Dukakis looked comical and out of place. The photograph was used by the Republicans to further ridicule Dukakis. Dukakis also lacked foreign policy experience. His only political experience was in local and state government. Meanwhile, his opponent reminded voters of his eight years in the Reagan administration and former position as US director of central intelligence.

In the end, Dukakis could not overcome his lackluster image. When Governor Dukakis campaigned with his running mate, the tall, distinguished Bentsen often seemed the better candidate for the presidency. Dukakis also failed to counter the Reagan mystique. Despite reminding Americans of the recent Iran-Contra scandal, Dukakis could not tarnish the Reagan-Bush image. Voters viewed Bush as the better choice for the presidency.

Following the 1988 campaign, Dukakis returned to Massachusetts and finished his term as governor. After leaving public service, Dukakis took positions as a lecturer at the University of California, Los Angeles, and a professor at Northeastern University in Massachusetts, teaching political science and public policy. He also served on the Board of Directors for Amtrak. In 2000, Dukakis coauthored How to Get Into Politics and Why. He supported the 2006 candidacy of Deval Patrick for the governorship of Massachusetts and the 2012 campaign for the US Senate by Elizabeth Warren. Dukakis also endorsed Warren during her brief time as a 2020 presidential candidate and would go on to endorse President Joe Biden. In the 2020s, Dukakis continued to speak about his decades of public service in engagements across the country.

Impact

Governor Dukakis’s presidential campaign had lasting effects on his country and his party. Because he was unable convincingly to negate the pejorative sense of the word “liberal” as used by his opponent, that connotation tended to remain operative in US national politics. Future contenders, rather than defend liberalism, began to distance themselves from the label altogether. Dukakis’s legacy in Massachusetts, however, remained associated with the Massachusetts Miracle and the successful recovery of the state’s economy in the 1980s.

Bibliography

Bundy, McGeorge. “Michael Dukakis, Former Massachusetts Governor - Voices in Leadership - Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.” Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 2023, www.hsph.harvard.edu/voices/events/dukakis/. Accessed 20 May 2024.

Chotiner, Isaac. "'I Am Not Rooting for Jeb.'" Slate. Slate Group, 16 Feb. 2016. Web. 27 June 2016.

Dukakis, Michael, and Rosabeth Moss Kanter. Creating the Future: The Massachusetts Comeback and Its Promise for America. New York: Summit, 1988. Print.

Farrar, Molly. “Former Gov. Michael Dukakis touts public life Dean College Franklin.” Milford Daily News, 28 Oct. 2022, www.milforddailynews.com/story/news/politics/2022/10/28/former-gov-michael-dukakis-touts-public-life-dean-college-franklin-ma/10595413002. Accessed 20 May 2024.

Gaines, Richard, and Michael Segal. Dukakis: The Man Who Would Be President. New York: Avon, 1988. Print.

Goldman, Peter, and Tom Mathews. The Quest for the Presidency, 1988. New York: Simon, 1989. Print.

Larkin, Max. "Retiring at 90, Michael Dukakis Is Hailed as Teacher, Leader and Benevolent ‘Nag’." WBUR News, 12 Apr. 2024, www.wbur.org/news/2024/04/12/retiring-90-dukakis-northeastern-weld-clinton-patrick-healey. Accessed 20 May 2024.

Polsby, Nelson W., and Aaron Wildavsky. Presidential Elections: Contemporary Strategies of American Electoral Politics. New York: Free, 1991. Print.

Quinn, Garrett. "Talking Trash with Mike Dukakis." Boston Magazine. Metro, Nov. 2015. Web. 27 June 2016.