H.W. Bush vs. Dukakis 1988
As a result of the success and popularity of the Reagan presidency, the Bush campaign in 1988 was not incredibly proactive in promoting the Bush image. Instead, much of what is remembered from the Bush campaign, is the unrelenting assault of attack ads aimed at Michael Dukakis. While this would would make an impact on this election, the precedent that the Bush campaign would set when it comes to harsh attack adds targeted at political opponents, would be a major part of presidential campaigns in the popular culture lexicon in every election since.
Bush would actually run into the same issue that his predecessor did when it came to campaign music. George H.W. Bush had an identity issue in the minds of many on his campaign team as a result of him being born in Massachusetts, but later moving to Texas and serving as a member of the House of Representatives from there. Being born in the north, but claiming Texas, made relatability an issue for Bush, so his campaign team looked to connect with the entire public through a campaign song. The popular Bobby McFerrin song “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” would be selected, but just like with Reagan, the artist would have an issue. McFerrin was a Democrat, and an avid Dukakis supporter, so he asked Bush to stop using his song. Bush would attempt to ease tension with McFerrin by inviting him to dinner, but McFerrin would decline forcing the Bush campaign to drop the song and instead adopt “This Land is Your Land” by Woddy Guthrie as the campaigns official song.
It would be the campaign of Michael Dukakis in 1988 that would provide the most memorable pop culture moments of the election. The attack ads that were being utilized by the Bush campaign, focused on the alleged weakness of Dukakis, so the Dukakis campaign team was looking for ways to squash the idea that Dukakis was weak. The Dukakis campaign would schedule a visit to a General Dynamics facility in Michigan, where M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks were manufactured. The plan was to have Dukakis ride in the tank to show that he was not weak. However, it would become one of the more hilarious moments in presidential campaign history as the physically small Dukakis would look foolish in the large tank, prompting a New York Times reporter to say that Dukakis looked like a “Cub Scout on an outing to an army base”.
Another issue in the Dukakis campaign that would be given a fair amount of attention in various form of popular culture, was prison furloughs that Dukakis allowed, and more specifically the ones that he would give convicted murderer Willie Horton. With numerous commercials going out from the Bush camp, the issue was at the front of the minds of numerous Americans. This issue would be cemented in pop-culture history, after a Saturday Night Live scene featuring John Lovitz as a smooth, party hosting Dukakis. In the scene, Lovitz is making rounds, when a man in a prison jumpsuit dances his way onto the screen. The man is supposed to be Ray Horton, and while dancing, he thanks Lovitz for the furlough so that he could come to the party. The Bush campaign politicized this issue in what would become known as the “Furlough Commercial”. This commercial would take heavy influences from the horror genre in film, by utilizing a black and white photo of Horton that was accompanied by a stern, scary voice, and ominous music that is familiar to that genre of film.