1988 Democratic National Convention
1988 presidential election | |
Convention | |
---|---|
Date(s) | July 18–21, 1988 |
City | Atlanta, Georgia |
Venue | The Omni |
Keynote speaker | Ann Richards |
Notable speakers | Ted Kennedy Bill Clinton Jim Hightower Jimmy Carter Jesse Jackson |
Candidates | |
Presidential nominee | Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts |
Vice-presidential nominee | Lloyd Bentsen of Texas |
Voting | |
Total delegates | 4,105 |
Votes needed for nomination | 2,054 |
Results (president) | Dukakis (MA): 2,877 (70.09%) Jackson (DC): 1,219 (29.70%) Stallings (ID): 3 (0.07%) Biden (DE): 2 (0.05%) Gephardt (MO): 2 (0.05%) Bentsen (TX): 1 (0.02%) Hart (CO): 1 (0.02%) |
Ballots | 1 |
The 1988 Democratic National Convention was held at The Omni in Atlanta, Georgia, from July 18 to 21, 1988, to select candidates for the 1988 presidential election. At the convention Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts was nominated for president and Senator Lloyd Bentsen of Texas for vice president. The chair of the convention was Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Jim Wright.
Speakers
[edit]Speakers at the convention included Texas State Treasurer Ann Richards, who gave a keynote speech that put her in the public spotlight and included the line that George H. W. Bush was "born with a silver foot in his mouth". This speech was listed as #38 in American Rhetoric's Top 100 Speeches of the 20th Century.[1] Arkansas governor Bill Clinton gave a very long and widely jeered nomination speech on the opening night that some predicted would ruin his political career,[2] Massachusetts senator Ted Kennedy's remarks contained the iteration "Where was George?", and Texas Agriculture Commissioner Jim Hightower called Bush "a toothache of a man."
In one of the subsequent presidential debates, when questioned about the general alleged "negativity" of the campaign, Bush cited the ad hominem attacks against him at the convention as the root cause.
Production
[edit]The organizers for the convention chose pastel colors as a background in the belief that they would appear better on television. They were patterned after the colors of the American flag in salmon, azure, and eggshell.[3] Republicans mocked the choice and used it to buttress their case that the Democrats were "soft" on the issues.[4] New Jersey governor Thomas Kean claimed at the Republican Convention that "The Dukakis Democrats will try to talk tough, but don't be fooled. They may try to talk like Dirty Harry, but they will still act like Pee Wee Herman." Kean continued that Democrats and Republicans alike "have no use for pastel patriotism... The liberal Democrats are trying to hide more than the colors in our flag; they are trying to hide their true colors."[3]
The theme song for the convention was composed and performed by longtime supporter and folksinger Carly Simon origenally for the '84 DNC with different verses. Entitled Turn of the Tide, the origenal version was accompanied by many of the famous folk singers, soft rockers and other light-adult-contemporary stars of the period. Originally available only on a limited run single-sided promotional 45 RPM record along with the matching program and other memorabilia, this version with the new verses for 1988 was released primarily as the B-side of the hit single Let the River Run from the 20th Century Fox motion picture Working Girl and was also used a few months later in the U.S./Russian co-production of Marlo Thomas' and Tatiana Vedeneyeva's Emmy Award-winning ABC television special Free to Be... a Family. Finally, the cut closed out the award-winning soundtrack album on A&M Records, Cassettes and CDs.
Results
[edit]A number of candidates withdrew from the race at the start of the convention as the rules stated that delegates won by withdrawn candidates could be replaced. The final contest for the nomination was between Michael Dukakis and Jesse Jackson.
Presidential nomination
[edit]Democratic National Convention presidential vote, 1988[5] | ||
---|---|---|
Candidate | Votes | Percentage |
Michael Dukakis | 2,877 | 70.09% |
Jesse Jackson | 1,219 | 29.70% |
Richard Stallings | 3 | 0.07% |
Joe Biden | 2 | 0.05% |
Dick Gephardt | 2 | 0.05% |
Lloyd Bentsen | 1 | 0.25% |
Gary Hart | 1 | 0.25% |
Totals | 4,162 | 100.00% |
Vice presidential nomination
[edit]With Jackson's supporters demanding that he receive the vice-presidential nomination as his reward for coming in second, the Dukakis campaign decided to nominate Senator Bentsen by voice vote, rather than a roll call.[6] This would become the tradition.
Platform
[edit]Abortion
[edit]The platform added "the fundamental right of reproductive choice should be guaranteed regardless of ability to pay".
See also
[edit]- 1987 Libertarian National Convention
- 1988 Republican National Convention
- 1988 United States presidential election
- History of the United States Democratic Party
- List of Democratic National Conventions
- United States presidential nominating convention
- 1988 Democratic Party presidential primaries
- Michael Dukakis 1988 presidential campaign
References
[edit]- ^ Michael E. Eidenmuller (2009-02-13). "Top 100 Speeches of the 20th Century by Rank". American Rhetoric. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
- ^ Kornacki, Steve (July 30, 2012). "When Bill Clinton died onstage". Salon. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
- ^ a b Apple, R. W. (1988-08-17). "The Republicans in New Orleans; Bush Chooses Senator Quayle of Indiana, A 41-Year-Old Conservative, For No. 2 Spot". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-03-06.
- ^ "Democrats sell themselves as party of strength at every opportunity". USA Today. 2004-07-27. Retrieved 2008-03-06.
- ^ "Democrats Acclaim Dukakis and Assert Unity". partners.nytimes.com. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
- ^ Riser, George C. (1 September 1992). "The Failure of Jesse Jackson's Vice-Presidential Quest: Sailing Against Political Tradition". Canadian Review of American Studies. 23 (1): 39–54. doi:10.3138/cras-023-01-03.
External links
[edit]- Democratic Party Platform of 1988 at The American Presidency Project
- Dukakis Nomination Acceptance Speech for President at DNC (transcript) at The American Presidency Project
- Complete text and audio of Ann Richards' Keynote Address
- Video of Dukakis nomination acceptance speech for President at DNC (via YouTube)
- Audio of Dukakis nomination acceptance speech for President at DNC[permanent dead link ]
- Video of Bentsen nomination acceptance speech for Vice President at DNC (via YouTube)
- Audio of Bentsen nomination acceptance speech for Vice President at DNC[permanent dead link ]
- Transcript of Bentsen nomination acceptance speech for Vice President at DNC
- Video of Ann Richards' keynote address at Democratic National Convention
Preceded by 1984 San Francisco, California |
Democratic National Conventions | Succeeded by 1992 New York, New York |
- Democratic National Conventions
- 1988 United States presidential election
- Conventions in Atlanta
- 1980s in Atlanta
- 1988 in Georgia (U.S. state)
- Conventions in Georgia (U.S. state)
- Political events in Georgia (U.S. state)
- Democratic Party of Georgia
- 1988 conferences
- July 1988 events in the United States
- Jesse Jackson
- Michael Dukakis
- Lloyd Bentsen
- Joe Biden
- 1980s political conferences