1988 United States presidential debates

← 1984 September 25, 1988 October 13, 1988 1992 →

Nominee George H. W. Bush Michael Dukakis Party Republican Democratic Home state Texas Massachusetts

1988 United States vice presidential debate

October 5, 1988

Nominee Dan Quayle Lloyd Bentsen Party Republican Democratic Home state Indiana Texas

The1988 United States presidential debates were a series ofdebates held during the1988 presidential election.^[1]

TheCommission on Presidential Debates (CPD), abipartisan organization formed in 1987, organized two debates among the major party candidates, sponsored two presidential debates and one vice presidential debates. OnlyRepublican nomineeGeorge H. W. Bush andDemocratic nomineeMichael Dukakis met the criteria for inclusion in the debates, and thus were the only two to appear in the debates sponsored by theCommission on Presidential Debates. The CPD-sponsored vice presidential debate took place between their respectivevice presidentialrunning mates,Dan Quayle andLloyd Bentsen.

There were two presidential debates and one vice-presidential debate.

The first presidential debate between Vice PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush and GovernorMichael Dukakis took place on Sunday September 25, 1988, in theWait Chapel atWake Forest University.

The debate was moderated byJim Lehrer ofPBS with John Mashek ofAtlanta Constitution,Peter Jennings ofABC, and Anne Groer ofOrlando Sentinel as panelists. Questions divided between foreign and domestic policy.

Voters were split as to who won the first presidential debate.^[3]

• [1] from theCommission on Presidential Debates website.

An estimated 65.1 million viewers tuned into the debate.

The only vice presidential debate between SenatorDan Quayle and SenatorLloyd Bentsen took place on Wednesday, October 5, 1988, in theOmaha Civic Auditorium inOmaha,Nebraska.

The debate was moderated byJudy Woodruff ofPBS moderated the debate withTom Brokaw ofNBC, Jon Margolis ofChicago Tribune, andBrit Hume ofABC.

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 bysuccession or by a presidential bid. In Quayle's response to Woodruff's question he stated "I have as much experience in the Congress asJack 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,'' which was followed by shouts and applause.

Quayle had routinely been comparing himself to Kennedy in hisstump 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]

• [2] from theCommission on Presidential Debates website.

An estimated 46.9 million viewers tuned into the debate.

Second presidential debate
Date(s)	October 13, 1988 (1988-10-13)
Duration	90 minutes
Venue	University of California
Location	Los Angeles,California
Participants	George H. W. Bush Michael Dukakis
Moderator(s)	Bernard Shaw ofCNN

The second and final presidential debate between Vice PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush and GovernorMichael Dukakis took place on Thursday, October 13, 1988, at thePauley Pavilion atUniversity of California inLos Angeles,California.

The debate was moderated byBernard Shaw ofCNN withAndrea Mitchell ofNBC,Ann Compton ofABC, andMargaret Warner ofNewsweek 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 ifKitty 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 ofNBC 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]

• [3] from theCommission on Presidential Debates website.

An estimated 67.3 million viewers tuned into the debate.

• George H. W. Bush 1988 presidential campaign
• Michael Dukakis 1988 presidential campaign
• 1988 United States presidential election

• United States presidential debates
• 1988 in American television
• 1988 United States presidential election
• Lloyd Bentsen
• Dan Quayle

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