Editing Michael Dukakis (section)

==1988 presidential campaign==
{{Main|Michael Dukakis 1988 presidential campaign}}
{{Further|1988 Democratic Party presidential primaries|1988 United States presidential election}}

=== Primaries ===
[[File:Dukakis1988rally.jpg|thumb|upright|right|Michael Dukakis at a campaign rally in [[UCLA]]'s [[Pauley Pavilion]], the night before the US presidential election of 1988 (Mon, November 7, 1988).]]
Using the phenomenon termed the "[[Massachusetts Miracle]]" to promote his campaign, Dukakis sought the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] nomination for [[President of the United States]] in the [[1988 United States presidential election]], prevailing over a primary field that included [[Jesse Jackson]], [[Dick Gephardt]], [[Paul Simon (politician)|Paul Simon]], [[Gary Hart]], [[Joe Biden]] and [[Al Gore]], among others. Composer [[John Williams]] wrote "Fanfare for Michael Dukakis" in 1988 at the request of Dukakis's father-in-law, Harry Ellis Dickson. The piece was premiered under the baton of Dickson (then the Associate Conductor of the [[Boston Pops]]) at that year's [[1988 Democratic National Convention|Democratic National Convention]]. Dukakis won the Democratic nomination, with 2,877 out of 4,105 delegates. He chose [[United States Senate|Senator]] [[Lloyd Bentsen]] of Texas to be his [[Vice President of the United States|vice presidential]] running mate. Dukakis was pro-choice on the issue of abortion.<ref>{{cite news |last=Goldman |first=Ari L. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/07/us/dukakis-s-ties-to-orthodox-church-stay-warm-despite-abortion-stance.html |title=Dukakis's Ties to Orthodox Church Stay Warm Despite Abortion Stance |newspaper=NYTimes.com |date=September 7, 1988 |access-date=April 5, 2015 |archive-date=May 25, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525082752/http://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/07/us/dukakis-s-ties-to-orthodox-church-stay-warm-despite-abortion-stance.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Dukakis made history as the first non-[[White Americans|Western European American]] nominated for president by a major party, and was, until President Obama's nomination in 2008, the only major presidential nominee in history with [[Ancestral background of presidents of the United States|ancestry from outside]] [[Northwestern Europe]]. Every United States presidential nominee except for Martin van Buren (who was of entirely Dutch ancestry) has had ancestry from the [[British Isles]].<ref name="AAP">{{cite book |last1=Roberts |first1=Gary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1FNnAAAAMAAJ |title=Ancestors of American Presidents |date=1995 |publisher=New England Historic Genealogical Society |isbn=0-936124-19-9 |page=8 |access-date=April 4, 2021}}</ref> As the first [[Greeks|ethnic Greek]] nominated for the Presidency by a major party, Dukakis enjoyed strong support among the [[Greek Americans|Greek American]] community. The Associated Press reported in April 1988 that there was an "outpouring of pride in Dukakis", which was especially strong and sentimental among older generations of Greek Americans.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Ethnic Excitement About Dukakis: 'He's Greek' |url=https://apnews.com/article/db93e9942413d98892e8a8472107b771 |access-date=June 26, 2023 |website=AP NEWS |language=en}}</ref> Dukakis stressed his working-class background as the son of impoverished immigrants, and his fluency in [[Greek language|Greek]] among several other languages. Touching on his immigrant roots, Dukakis used [[Neil Diamond]]'s ode to immigrants, "[[America (Neil Diamond song)|America]]", as the theme song for his campaign. This was seen as a sharp departure from his previous political campaigns in heavily white Massachusetts, in which the ''[[The Washington Post|Washington Post]]'' reported that Dukakis rarely, if at all, made a point of his ethnicity (hence the reported colloquial saying "I knew Michael Dukakis before he was Greek").<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Stark |first=Steven D. |date=September 25, 1988 |title=WHY DUKAKIS' ETHNIC PITCH MAY NOT PLAY AT THE POLLS |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1988/09/25/why-dukakis-ethnic-pitch-may-not-play-at-the-polls/3139d0d2-5fb3-482f-b7f1-2efd1c5a9845/ |access-date=June 26, 2023 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> Although George H.W Bush's campaign did not make a point of it in their [[attack ad]]s, researchers and pollsters often discussed the vulnerability of Dukakis embracing his heritage. Conservative analyst [[William Schneider Jr.]] said that Dukakis' Greekness was the "great unspoken issue" of the election.<ref name=":0" /> The ''Post'' assessed that Bush's desirability as a [[White Anglo-Saxon Protestants|WASP]] would inevitably make a victory more difficult for Dukakis in the long run.<ref name=":0" />

Regardless of community support, Dukakis had trouble with the personality that he projected to the voting public. His reserved and stoic nature was easily interpreted to be a lack of passion; Dukakis was often referred to as "[[Zorba the Greek|Zorba the Clerk]]".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1988/10/23/how-history-would-vote/07e891bd-f38c-4c36-a40b-e76b92115e4f/|title=HOW HISTORY WOULD VOTE|date=October 23, 1988|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=January 22, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286|archive-date=January 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190123010156/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1988/10/23/how-history-would-vote/07e891bd-f38c-4c36-a40b-e76b92115e4f/|url-status=live}}</ref> Nevertheless, Dukakis is considered to have done well in the first presidential debate with George H.W. Bush, with ''The New York Times'' reporting, "Democratic and Republican analysts generally agreed that Mr. Dukakis had turned in the better performance in the first of two Presidential debates, frequently managing to put Mr. Bush on the defensive."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dionne |first1=E.J. Jr. |title=After The Debate; Round One Undecisive &#91;sic&#93; |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/27/us/after-the-debate-round-one-undecisive.html |work=The New York Times |date=September 27, 1988 |access-date=July 15, 2019 |archive-date=February 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200217133532/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/27/us/after-the-debate-round-one-undecisive.html?searchResultPosition=7 |url-status=live }}</ref> In the second debate, his performance was poor and played to his reputation as being cold.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/09/presidential-debates-errors-mistakes-gaffes-biggest-history-214279|title=The 8 Biggest Unforced Errors in Debate History|last=Zelizer|first=Julian E.|website=POLITICO Magazine|date=September 24, 2016 |language=en|access-date=January 22, 2019|archive-date=January 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190123011841/https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/09/presidential-debates-errors-mistakes-gaffes-biggest-history-214279|url-status=live}}</ref>

During the campaign, Dukakis's mental health became an issue when he refused to release his full medical history and there were, according to ''The New York Times'', "persistent suggestions" that he had undergone psychiatric treatment in the past.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1988/08/04/us/dukakis-releases-medical-details-to-stop-rumors-on-mental-health.html?pagewanted=all "Dukakis Releases Medical Details To Stop Rumors on Mental Health"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305063750/http://www.nytimes.com/1988/08/04/us/dukakis-releases-medical-details-to-stop-rumors-on-mental-health.html?pagewanted=all |date=March 5, 2016 }}, ''The New York Times'', August 4, 1988.</ref>  The issue gained further traction after a White House press conference, during which President [[Ronald Reagan]] flippantly referred to Dukakis as an "invalid".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_krr3Zs0D8| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211103/6_krr3Zs0D8| archive-date=November 3, 2021 | url-status=live|title=Dukakis' mental health questioned| date=March 16, 2016|via=www.youtube.com}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In the 2008 film ''[[Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story]]'', journalist [[Robert Novak]] revealed that Republican strategist [[Lee Atwater]] had personally tried to get him to spread these mental health rumors.<ref name=BoogieMan>[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/atwater/etc/script.html ''Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171021171256/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/atwater/etc/script.html |date=October 21, 2017 }} transcript, [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]], director: [[Stefan Forbes]], 2008.</ref> Editors at ''The Washington Times'' contributed to these rumors when they ran a story headlined "Dukakis Kin Hints at Sessions", suggesting that a member of the Dukakis family had said "it is possible" that Dukakis saw a psychiatrist. A week later the reporter, [[Gene Grabowski (communications strategist)|Gene Grabowski]], revealed that ''Times'' editors had taken the full quote out of context. The full quote was "It's possible, but I doubt it."<ref>{{Cite news|title = Reporter Quits in Dispute Over Dukakis Story|url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-08-13-mn-192-story.html|newspaper = Los Angeles Times|date = August 13, 1988|access-date = January 8, 2016|issn = 0458-3035|language = en-US|archive-date = January 25, 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160125185346/http://articles.latimes.com/1988-08-13/news/mn-192_1_straight-story|url-status = live}}</ref>

Dukakis's general election campaign was subject to several criticisms and gaffes on issues such as [[Capital punishment in the United States|capital punishment]], [[the pledge of allegiance in schools]], and a [[Michael Dukakis tank photograph|photograph of Dukakis in a tank]] which was intended to portray him as a sound choice for [[commander-in-chief]] but which was widely perceived to have backfired. Like the allegations of psychiatric problems, these were vulnerabilities which Atwater identified and exploited. In 1991, shortly before his death from a brain tumor, Atwater apologized to Dukakis for the "naked cruelty" of the 1988 campaign.<ref>{{cite news |title=Gravely Ill, Atwater Offers Apology |agency=[[Associated Press|AP]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/13/us/gravely-ill-atwater-offers-apology.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=January 13, 1991 |access-date=November 21, 2013 |archive-date=May 2, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502045245/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/13/us/gravely-ill-atwater-offers-apology.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="TNY20080505">{{cite magazine |author=Dorothy Wickenden |title=Going Positive |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |date=May 5, 2008 |url=https://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2008/05/05/080505taco_talk_wickenden |access-date=November 21, 2013 |archive-date=May 1, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501040315/http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2008/05/05/080505taco_talk_wickenden |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Crime===
[[File:Vice President Bush debates with Michael Dukakis, Los Angeles, CA 13 Oct 88.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Dukakis debating Vice President Bush in Los Angeles in October 1988.]]
During the campaign, Vice President [[George H. W. Bush]], the Republican nominee, criticized Dukakis for his traditionally liberal positions on many issues, calling him a "card-carrying member of the [[American Civil Liberties Union|ACLU]]". Dukakis's support for a [[prison furlough]] program was a major election subject. During his first term as governor, he had vetoed a bill that would have stopped furloughs for first-degree murderers.<ref>Oshinsky, David. [https://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/20/books/what-became-of-the-democrats.html?pagewanted=all "What Became of the Democrats"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307192351/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/20/books/what-became-of-the-democrats.html?pagewanted=all |date=March 7, 2016 }}, ''The New York Times'' (October 20, 1991): "In 1976 the state legislature passed a bill that would have ended the furloughs of first-degree murderers. Governor Dukakis, as the Edsalls point out, vetoed it. A strong advocate of prisoners' rights, he contended that the bill would 'cut the heart out of efforts at inmate rehabilitation.'"</ref> During his second term, that program resulted in the release of convicted murderer [[Willie Horton]], who committed a rape and assault in Maryland after being furloughed.<ref>''Crime, Risk and Insecurity'' ed. Tim Hope and Richard Sparks, p. 266</ref> George H. W. Bush mentioned Horton by name in a speech in June 1988, and a conservative [[political action committee]] (PAC) affiliated with the Bush campaign, the National Security Political Action Committee, aired an ad entitled "Weekend Passes", which used a [[mug shot]] image of Horton. The Bush campaign refused to repudiate the ad. It was followed by a separate Bush campaign ad, "[[Revolving Door (advertisement)|Revolving Door]]", criticizing Dukakis over the furlough program without mentioning Horton. The legislature canceled the program during Dukakis's last term.

===Tank photograph===
[[File:Michael Dukakis in tank.jpg|thumb|right|The photograph of Dukakis in an M1 Abrams tank from the US presidential election of 1988.]]
Dukakis was criticized during the campaign for a perceived softness on defense issues, particularly the controversial "[[Strategic Defense Initiative|Star Wars]]" program, which he promised to weaken. In response to this, Dukakis orchestrated what would become the key image of his campaign, although it turned out quite differently from what he intended. On September 13, 1988, Dukakis visited the [[General Dynamics]] [[General Dynamics Land Systems|Land Systems]] plant in [[Sterling Heights, Michigan]], to take part in a [[photo op]] in an [[M1 Abrams]] tank. The [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]], [[Margaret Thatcher]], had been photographed in 1986 riding in a [[Challenger 1|Challenger]] tank while wearing a scarf, which turned out very successfully and helped in her 1987 reelection.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/reports/archive/features/tank.shtml |title=Radio4 – Today/The Fate of Tanks |publisher=BBC.co.uk |date=October 3, 2014 |access-date=April 5, 2015 |archive-date=April 29, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150429025625/http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/reports/archive/features/tank.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://digitaljournalist.org/issue0309/lm10.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150801060800/http://www.digitaljournalist.org/issue0309/lm10.html|url-status=dead|title=100 Photographs that Changed the World by Life - The Digital Journalist|archivedate=August 1, 2015|website=digitaljournalist.org}}</ref> General Dynamics protocol requires one to wear the protective helmet for safety and communication when the tank is running at full speed, although Dukakis campaign staffers were aware that a politician putting on any headgear was a faux pas. A member of the press did photograph Dukakis without the helmet when the tank exited the garage at a slow speed, but the rest of the photographers snapped shots of Dukakis wearing a helmet when the tank made a high speed pass.<ref name="tank">{{cite web |url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2013/11/dukakis-and-the-tank-099119 |title=Dukakis and the tank |author=King, Josh |work=Politico |date=November 17, 2013 |access-date=March 3, 2020 |archive-date=March 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200303230948/https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2013/11/dukakis-and-the-tank-099119 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBlEOvIBTEs | title=Dukakis and the Tank: The Making of a Political Disaster | website=[[YouTube]] | date=December 3, 2013 | access-date=June 13, 2022 | archive-date=June 13, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220613221934/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBlEOvIBTEs | url-status=live }}</ref>

The image of Dukakis wearing a helmet while riding the tank was ridiculed by Bush and the media. The following week, a poll found that 25 percent of respondents said they were less likely to support him because of the tank ride.<ref name="tank"/> Footage of Dukakis in the tank was used in a television ad by the Bush campaign which aired during the [[1988 World Series|World Series]]. The Dukakis campaign produced a 60-second response ad that featured a television set playing Bush's ad, which is flicked off the screen by a finger later revealed to be Dukakis as he proclaims that he is fed up with "George Bush's negative TV ads", but this "pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey advertising"{{what?|date=October 2024}} only ended up drawing further attention to the tank ride.<ref name="tank"/>

The phrase "Dukakis in the tank" remains a shorthand for backfired [[public relations]] outings.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.apoliticus.com/2008/11/top-5-political-blunders/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218121839/http://www.apoliticus.com/2008/11/top-5-political-blunders/|url-status=usurped|title=Top 5: Political Blunders|archivedate=2008-12-18|website=apoliticus.com}}</ref> In 2008, when asked about the photograph, Dukakis said "Should I have been in the tank? Probably not, in retrospect. But these days when people ask me, 'Did you get here in a tank?' I always respond by saying, 'No, and I've never [[George H. W. Bush vomiting incident|thrown up all over the Japanese prime minister]]'."<ref name="tank"/>

===Result===
The Dukakis/Bentsen ticket lost the election by a decisive margin in the [[Electoral College (United States)|Electoral College]] to [[George H. W. Bush]] and [[Dan Quayle]], carrying only 10 states and the [[Washington, D.C.|District of Columbia]]. Many believed he should have been campaigning across the country. During this time, his 17-point lead in opinion polls completely disappeared, as his lack of visibility allowed Bush to define the issues of the campaign. A large number of Democrats believed that the loss was to blame on Dukakis's delayed response to Bush and underestimating Bush's strength as a candidate.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Vennochi |first=Joan |author-link=Joan Vennochi |date=November 9, 1988 |title=Party Comes to Grips With Defeat Democrats Fault Dukakis for Failing To 'Expose' Bush |edition=Third |page=24 |work=[[Boston Globe]] |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/294495470 |access-date=August 12, 2023 |id={{ProQuest|294495470}}}}</ref> Dukakis has since stated that the main reason he lost was his decision "not to respond to the Bush attack campaign, and in retrospect it was a pretty dumb decision."<ref>{{cite web |last=Rizzo |first=John |url=http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2013/11/dukakis-and-the-tank-99119_Page4.html |title=Dukakis and the Tank – Josh King |work=POLITICO Magazine |date=November 17, 2013 |access-date=April 5, 2015 |archive-date=March 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200327164448/https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2013/11/dukakis-and-the-tank-99119_Page4.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:ElectoralCollege1988.svg|thumb|left|The 1988 election with electoral votes by state.]]

Despite Dukakis's loss, his performance was a marked improvement over the previous two Democratic efforts, both in the popular vote and the Electoral College. Though Bush still won a majority of the popular vote, Dukakis's margin of loss (7.8%) nationally was narrower than Jimmy Carter's in [[1980 United States presidential election|1980]] (9.7%) or Walter Mondale's in [[1984 United States presidential election|1984]] (18.2%), and earned 41.8&nbsp;million votes nationally.

Dukakis made some strong showings in states that had voted for Republicans [[Ronald Reagan]] and [[Gerald Ford]]. He managed to pull off a close win in New York, which at the time was the second largest state in terms of electoral votes; he also scored victories in Rhode Island, Hawaii, his home state of Massachusetts, Oregon, and Washington. [[Walter Mondale]] had lost all six states, and since then, all six states have remained in the Democratic column at presidential elections.<ref name="270 to win hist">{{Cite news|url=https://www.270towin.com/historical-presidential-elections/|title=Historical U.S. Presidential Elections 1789–2016|access-date=October 12, 2018|archive-date=March 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319032911/https://www.270towin.com/historical-presidential-elections/|url-status=live}}</ref> He swept Iowa, winning by 10 points in a state that had voted Republican in the last five presidential elections. His proportion of the popular vote would not be matched by any subsequent Democratic presidential candidate in South Dakota (46.51%),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/compare.php?year=2008&fips=46&f=1&off=0&elect=0&type=state|title=Presidential General Election Results Comparison—South Dakota|publisher=US Election Atlas|access-date=November 6, 2020|author=Leip, David|archive-date=July 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728234236/https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/compare.php?year=2008&fips=46&f=1&off=0&elect=0&type=state|url-status=live}}</ref> Kansas (42.56%),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/compare.php?year=2008&fips=20&f=1&off=0&elect=0&type=state|title=Presidential General Election Results Comparison—Kansas|publisher=US Election Atlas|access-date=November 6, 2020|author=Leip, David|archive-date=July 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210729000221/https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/compare.php?year=2008&fips=20&f=1&off=0&elect=0&type=state|url-status=live}}</ref> Oklahoma (41.28%),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/compare.php?year=2008&fips=40&f=1&off=0&elect=0&type=state|title=Presidential General Election Results Comparison—Oklahoma|publisher=US Election Atlas|access-date=November 6, 2020|author=Leip, David|archive-date=July 12, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100712154158/http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/compare.php?year=2008&fips=40&f=1&off=0&elect=0&type=state|url-status=live}}</ref> Wyoming (38.01%),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/compare.php?year=2008&fips=56&f=1&off=0&elect=0&type=state|title=Presidential General Election Results Comparison—Wyoming|publisher=US Election Atlas|access-date=November 6, 2020|author=Leip, David|archive-date=April 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419050455/https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/compare.php?year=2008&fips=56&f=1&off=0&elect=0&type=state|url-status=live}}</ref> or Idaho (36.01%).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/compare.php?year=2008&fips=16&f=1&off=0&elect=0&type=state|title=Presidential General Election Results Comparison—Idaho|publisher=US Election Atlas|access-date=November 6, 2020|author=Leip, David|archive-date=July 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728222030/https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/compare.php?year=2008&fips=16&f=1&off=0&elect=0&type=state|url-status=live}}</ref>

Although Dukakis cut into the Republican hold in the Midwest, he failed to dent the emerging GOP stronghold in the South that had been forming since the end of World War II with a temporary reprieve with [[Jimmy Carter]] (along with future President and [[Southern Democrat]] [[Bill Clinton]], albeit to a much lesser extent). He lost most of the South by a wide margin, with Bush's popular vote margins exceeding 15% in most states.<ref name="1988 all states">{{cite web|title=1988 Presidential General Election Data – National|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/data.php?year=1988&datatype=national&def=1&f=0&off=0&elect=0|access-date=February 7, 2013|archive-date=October 31, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121031043941/http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/data.php?year=1988&datatype=national&def=1&f=0&off=0&elect=0|url-status=live}}</ref> He carried most of the southern-central parishes of Louisiana,<ref name="1988 all states"/> which was also his best Southern popular vote margin. His second-lowest Southern margin was Texas, where four overwhelmingly [[Mexican-American]] counties of [[South Texas]] delivered more than 81% of the vote to Dukakis, and were among his top five counties or county-equivalents nationally.<ref name="1988 all states"/>

In 2008, Dukakis stated during an interview with [[Katie Couric]] that he "owe[d] the American people an apology" because "if I had beaten the old man [i.e. George H. W. Bush], we never would have heard of the kid [i.e. George W. Bush], and we wouldn't be in this mess."<ref>{{Cite news | url=http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4386669n | publisher=CBS News | title=Dukakis Defends Obama Campaign | access-date=April 1, 2009 | archive-date=January 15, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130115100103/http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4386669n | url-status=live }}</ref>