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The 1988 United States presidential debates were a series of debates held for the presidential election. [1]
The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), a bipartisan organization formed in 1987, organized two debates among the major presidential candidates, sponsored two presidential debates and one vice-presidential debates. Only the Republican nominee George H. W. Bush and the Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis met the criteria for inclusion in the debates, and thus were the only two to appear in the debates sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates. The CPD-sponsored vice presidential debate took place between Republican nominee Dan Quayle and Democratic nominee Lloyd Bentsen.
There were two presidential debates and one vice-presidential debate.
1988 United States presidential election debates | |||||||||||||||
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No. | Date & Time | Host | Location | Moderator | Participants | ||||||||||
Key: P Participant. N Non-invitee. | Republican | Democratic | |||||||||||||
Vice President George H. W. Bush of Texas | Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts | ||||||||||||||
1 | Sunday, September 25, 1988, 8:00 – 9:30 p.m. EDT [2] | Wake Forest University | Winston-Salem, North Carolina | Jim Lehrer of PBS | P | P | |||||||||
2 | Thursday, October 13, 1988, 9:30 – 11:00 p.m. EDT [2] | University of California | Los Angeles, California | Bernard Shaw of CNN | P | P | |||||||||
1988 United States vice presidential debate | |||||||||||||||
No. | Date & Time | Host | Location | Moderator | Participants | ||||||||||
Key: P Participant. N Non-invitee. | Republican | Democratic | |||||||||||||
Senator Dan Quayle of Indiana | Senator Lloyd Bentsen of Texas | ||||||||||||||
VP | Wednesday, October 5, 1988, 9:00 – 10:30 p.m. EDT [2] | Omaha Civic Auditorium | Omaha, Nebraska | Judy Woodruff of PBS | P | P |
First presidential debate | |
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Date(s) | September 25, 1988 |
Venue | Wake Forest University |
Location | Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
Participants | George H. W. Bush Michael Dukakis |
Moderator(s) | Jim Lehrer of PBS |
The First presidential debate was held in the Wait Chapel at Wake Forest University on Sunday September 25, 1988, between vice president George H. W. Bush and governor Michael Dukakis. Jim Lehrer of PBS moderated the debate with John Mashek of Atlanta Constitution, Peter Jennings of ABC, and Anne Groer of Orlando Sentinel as panelists. Questions divided between foreign and domestic policy.
Voters were split as to who won the first presidential debate. [3]
An estimated 65.1 million viewers tuned into the debate.
Vice presidential debate | |
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Date(s) | October 5, 1988 |
Venue | Omaha Civic Auditorium |
Location | Omaha, Nebraska |
Participants | Dan Quayle Lloyd Bentsen |
Moderator(s) | Judy Woodruff of PBS |
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The Vice presidential debate was held in the Omaha Civic Auditorium in Omaha, Nebraska on Wednesday, October 5, 1988, between senator Dan Quayle and senator Lloyd Bentsen. Judy Woodruff of PBS moderated the debate with Tom Brokaw of NBC, Jon Margolis of Chicago Tribune, and Brit Hume of ABC.
Judy Woodruff, set the stage by addressing the audience: "Based on the history since World War II, there is almost a 50–50 chance that one of the two men here tonight will become President of the United States." She was referring to the probability that the man elected vice president would later become president, either by succession or by a presidential bid. In Quayle's response to Woodruff's question he stated "I have as much experience in the Congress as Jack Kennedy did when he sought the presidency." Bentsen then responded to Quayle's remark with "Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy '' followed shouts and applause.
Quayle had routinely been comparing himself to Kennedy in his stump speech. [4] Quayle did not directly compare himself with Kennedy in terms of accomplishment, but in terms of length of Congressional service; Quayle served for 12 years while Kennedy served for 14. When Kennedy successfully sought the Democratic nomination in 1960, he had less experience than his primary opponents, most of whom had more seniority in the Senate. While it was a statement of fact, some of Quayle's advisors suggested that this comparison could cause trouble. [5]
Bentsen's remark has become a part of the political lexicon as a way to deflate politicians or other individuals perceived as thinking too highly of themselves. The phrase was almost never uttered, as Bentsen was so nervous that he pleaded with his staff to cancel the debate altogether. [6]
An estimated 46.9 million viewers tuned into the debate.
Second presidential debate | |
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Date(s) | October 13, 1988 |
Venue | University of California |
Location | Los Angeles, California |
Participants | George H. W. Bush Michael Dukakis |
Moderator(s) | Bernard Shaw of CNN |
The Second presidential debate was held at the Pauley Pavilion at University of California in Los Angeles, California on Thursday, October 13, 1988, between vice president George H. W. Bush and governor Michael Dukakis. Bernard Shaw of CNN moderated the debate with Andrea Mitchell of NBC, Ann Compton of ABC, Margaret Warner of Newsweek as panelists.
Bush improved in the second debate; Dukakis had been suffering from the flu and spent much of the day in bed. His performance was generally seen as poor.
Bernard Shaw opened the debate by asking Dukakis whether he would support the death penalty if Kitty Dukakis, his wife, were raped and murdered; Dukakis answered "no" and proceeded to discuss the statistical ineffectiveness of capital punishment. Some commentators thought the question itself was unfair, in that it injected an overly emotional element into the discussion of a policy issue; Many observers felt Dukakis's answer lacked the normal emotions one would expect of a person talking about a loved one's rape and murder, which played to his reputation of being intellectually cold. [7]
Tom Brokaw of NBC reported on his October 14 newscast, "The consensus tonight is that Vice President George Bush won last night's debate and made it all the harder for Governor Michael Dukakis to catch and pass him in the 25 days remaining. In all of the Friday morning quarterbacking, there was common agreement that Dukakis failed to seize the debate and make it his night." [8]
An estimated 67.3 million viewers tuned into the debate.
James Danforth Quayle is an American retired politician who served as the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party, Quayle represented Indiana in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1977 to 1981 and in the U.S. Senate from 1981 to 1989.
The 1988 United States presidential election was the 51st quadrennial presidential election held on Tuesday, November 8, 1988. Incumbent Republican Vice President George H. W. Bush defeated the Democratic Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis.
During presidential election campaigns in the United States, it has become customary for the candidates to engage in one or more debates. The topics discussed in the debate are often the most controversial issues of the time, and arguably elections have been nearly decided by these debates. Candidate debates are not constitutionally mandated, but they are now considered an intrinsic part of the election process. The debates are targeted mainly at undecided voters; those who tend not to be partial to any political ideology or party.
Lloyd Millard Bentsen Jr. was an American politician who was a four-term United States Senator (1971–1993) from Texas and the Democratic Party nominee for vice president in 1988 on the Michael Dukakis ticket. He also served as the 69th United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Bill Clinton.
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.
The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) is a nonprofit corporation established in 1987 under the joint sponsorship of the Democratic and Republican political parties in the United States. The CPD sponsors and produces debates for U.S. presidential and vice-presidential candidates and undertakes research and educational activities relating to the debates. It has run all of the presidential debates held since 1988. The commission's debates are sponsored by private contributions from foundations and corporations as well as fees from hosting institutions.
"Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy" was a remark made during the 1988 United States vice presidential debate by Democratic nominee Senator Lloyd Bentsen to Republican nominee Senator Dan Quayle in response to Quayle's mentioning the name of John F. Kennedy, the Democratic 35th president of the United States, whom Bentsen knew from their time as congressmen from the 80th to 82nd Congresses. Since then, the words "You're no Jack Kennedy," or some variation on the remark, have become a part of the political lexicon as a way to deflate politicians or other individuals perceived as thinking too highly of themselves. Michael Dukakis and Bentsen later went on to lose the 1988 United States presidential election to George H. W. Bush and Quayle, who thus succeeded Bush as vice president of the United States.
The 1990 United States Senate special election in Indiana was a special election held on November 6, 1990, in order to fill the Class III seat in the United States Senate from Indiana for the remainder of the term ending January 3, 1993. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Dan Coats, who was recently appointed to this seat two years prior, won election to serve out the remainder of the term.
The 1988 United States presidential election in North Carolina took place on November 8, 1988, and was part of the 1988 United States presidential election. Voters chose 13 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
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This article lists those who were potential candidates for the Democratic nomination for Vice President of the United States in the 1988 election. Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis won the 1988 Democratic nomination for President of the United States, and chose Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen as his running mate. Dukakis chose Bentsen in order to appeal to Southerners and in hopes of carrying Bentsen's home state of Texas. The strategy failed, as the Dukakis-Bentsen ticket went on to lose Texas and all other states in the South except West Virginia. The choice of Bentsen caused some backlash from Jesse Jackson, who had wanted to be chosen as the vice presidential nominee, and progressives such as Ralph Nader. Paul Brountas, a longtime Dukakis aide, led the search for Dukakis's running mate. The Dukakis–Bentsen ticket would lose to the Bush–Quayle ticket in the general election. Bentsen simultaneously ran for reelection as Senator, and easily won, despite the Dukakis-Bentsen ticket's double-digit loss in Texas.
This article lists those who were potential candidates for the Republican nomination for Vice President of the United States in the 1988 election. Incumbent Vice President George H. W. Bush won the 1988 Republican nomination for President of the United States, and chose Indiana Senator Dan Quayle as his running mate. The selection of Quayle surprised many of Bush's closest advisers, who had expected Bush to pick a more well-known running mate. However, Bush adviser Roger Ailes helped convince Bush that Quayle would be able to effectively attack the Democratic presidential nominee, Michael Dukakis. Bush also liked Quayle's youth and felt that Quayle would make for a loyal vice president. The Bush–Quayle ticket ultimately defeated the Dukakis–Bentsen ticket in the 1988 election.
The 1992 United States presidential debates were a series of debates held for the presidential election.