Michael Dukakis

There were some tense minutes for me late yesterday morning. I was just a few hours into my guest editing stint and my efforts to update the site were being met by a strange and stubborn error message. I sent off a panicky email to the few remaining souls at Observer headquarters, convinced that my bumbling incompetence had somehow ruined the Politicker.

But it turned out there was a different explanation: an interview I recently did with Michael Dukakis had been linked by Matt Drudge, and the resulting flood of traffic had ground the site to a halt. I was relieved – and, obviously, pleased that the story was receiving such attention.

Last night, I looked through the comments section for the interview and, again, was flattered by the volume. Still, a couple of themes came up repeatedly, and given the interest in the story, I figured I’d address them.

One point that was made by numerous commenters involved the reference to the Willie Horton ads that were used against Dukakis, an integral part of the devastating Dukakis caricature drawn up by the G.O.P. in the ’88 campaign. This was not the central focus of the interview and I made sure to quote Dukakis indicting himself for allowing the caricature to take hold.  (Continued after the jump)  read more »

A post on The New Republic's blog The Plank cites "a rival campaign operative" taking issue with John Edwards's promise that, as the Democratic nominee, he'll win multiple Southern states. The operative supports this note of skepticism by pointing to the anemic performance of the Kerry-Edwards ticket in North Carolina, where President Bush won 56 percent of the vote.

I too have doubts about Edwards' ability to deliver so sweepingly in the south; his message seems more likely to resonate in the Rust Belt than in the Sun Belt. That said, it's questionable at best to bring up figures from 2004, because Vice-Presidential candidates simply do not have a measurable impact on the final vote count.

After all, remember Lloyd Bentsen?  read more »

Competency usually doesn’t win Presidential elections.  read more »

You probably know this one already: the celebrity Senator—a Democrat from a big Northeastern s  read more »

You probably know this one already: the celebrity Senator—a Democrat from a big Northeastern state  read more »

Mike Berg is running for Congress in Delaware as the antiwar, Green candidate against the incumbent Republican. Berg calls for the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq on the grounds that the U.S. is increasing suffering in the Middle East, not decreasing it. I'm as spavined as just about everyone else on the left over the immediate withdrawal question, still I'm pulling for Berg. Berg is the father of Nick Berg, a humanitarian and telecommunications worker in Iraq who was beheaded by al-Zarqawi two years ago. Or as the networks say, "personally beheaded by Zarqawi." (Is that a distinction?) So today Berg is finally getting some air time. Reporters are asking him how he feels about Zarqawi's death. On CNN, he was shown saying, "It doesn't bring me personally any relief because it doesn't bring my son back." He went on about how much suffering the U.S. has brought to Iraqi families. Amen. I was disappointed in Berg's answer. Michael Dukakis lost the presidency in 1988 for, among other reasons, flubbing the death-penalty question, when an anchor at a debate asked him if he'd support the death penalty if his wife was raped and murdered. Dukakis answered very coolly and technically, No, and explained why. People felt that he wasn't in touch with his real emotions, if he even had them. Mike Berg has said before that he has struggled with his vengeful feelings toward Zarqawi. Would it be so bad if he let it rip today about how he feels about the killing of his son's evil murderer? It might help his candidacy.

In 1988, a precocious Queens student named Michael Gianaris, a son of Greek immigrants, registered 1  read more »

In 1988, a precocious Queens student named Michael Gianaris, a son of Greek immigrants, registered 1  read more »