1988 Democratic National Convention

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

thumb|[[Omni Coliseum|The Omni was the site of the 1988 Democratic National Convention]]

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". Arkansas governor Bill Clinton also gave a long and widely panned nomination speech on that same opening night that some predicted would ruin his political career, 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."

On the following evening, having already quietly committed to support Gov. Dukakis. the Reverend Jesse Jackson, founder of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, brought then 75 year old Rosa Parks on stage and delivered the historic speech "Keep Hope Alive!"

Production

thumb|Dukakis speaking at the convention

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. Republicans mocked the choice and used it to buttress their case that the Democrats were "soft" on the issues. 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."

! style="width: 17em" |Candidate

! style="width: 5em" |Votes

! style="width: 7em" |Percentage

| Michael Dukakis

| align="right" | 2,877

| align="right" | 70.09%

| Jesse Jackson

| align="right" | 1,219

| align="right" | 29.70%

| Richard Stallings

| align="right" | 3

| align="right" | 0.07%

| Joe Biden

| align="right" | 2

| align="right" | 0.05%

| Dick Gephardt

| align="right" | 2

| align="right" | 0.05%

|Lloyd Bentsen

| align="right" | 1

| align="right" | 0.25%

|Gary Hart

| align="right" | 1

| align="right" | 0.25%

|-bgcolor="#EEEEEE"

| align="right" | Totals

| align="right" | 4,162

| align="right" | 100.00%

Vice presidential nomination

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. This would become the tradition.

Platform

Reproductive Rights

The platform added "the fundamental right of reproductive choice should be guaranteed regardless of ability to pay".

References

External links

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 Ann Richards' keynote address at Democratic National Convention
Complete video, audio and transcript of Rev. Jesse Jackson's speech
Video of Dukakis nomination acceptance speech for President at DNC (via YouTube)
Audio of Dukakis nomination acceptance speech for President at DNC
Video of Bentsen nomination acceptance speech for Vice President at DNC (via YouTube)
Audio of Bentsen nomination acceptance speech for Vice President at DNC
Transcript of Bentsen nomination acceptance speech for Vice President at DNC