however, Dukakis looked comical and out of place.
The photograph was used by the Republicans to fur-
ther ridicule Dukakis. Dukakis also lacked foreign
policy experience. His only political experience was
in local and state government. Meanwhile, his oppo-
nent reminded voters of his eight years in the Rea-
gan administration and former position as U.S. di-
rector of central intelligence.
In the end, Dukakis could not overcome his lack-
luster image. When Governor Dukakis campaigned
with his running mate, the tall, distinguished Bent-
sen often seemed the better candidate for the presi-
dency. Dukakis also failed to counter the Reagan
mystique. Despite reminding Americans of the re-
cent Iran-Contra scandal, Dukakis could not tarnish
the Reagan-Bush image. Voters viewed Bush as the
better choice for the presidency.
Following the 1988 campaign, Dukakis returned
to Massachusetts and finished his term as governor.
He considered losing the presidential election one
of his life’s biggest disappointments. After leaving
public service, Dukakis took positions as a lecturer at
the University of California, Los Angeles, and at
Northeastern University in Massachusetts, teaching
political science and public policy.
Impact Governor Dukakis’s presidential campaign
had lasting effects for his country and his party. Be-
cause he was unable convincingly to negate the pejo-
rative sense of the word “liberal” as used by his oppo-
nent, that connotation tended to remain operative
in U.S. national politics. Future contenders, rather
than defend liberalism, began to distance them-
selves from the label altogether. Dukakis’s legacy in
Massachusetts, however, remained associated with
the Massachusetts Miracle and the successful recov-
ery of the state’s economy.
Further Reading
Dukakis, Michael, and Rosabeth Moss Kanter.Cre-
ating the Future: The Massachusetts Comeback and Its
Promise for America.New York: Summit Books,
- Dukakis’s own account of his success in res-
cuing his state’s economy, written to prepare for
his presidential run and argue for his qualifica-
tions to guide the national economy.
Gaines, Richard, and Michael Segal.Dukakis: The
Man Who Would Be President.New York: Avon, - Another book published during the cam-
paign, this biography sought to introduce Duka-
kis to voters.
Goldman, Peter, and Tom Mathews.The Quest for the
Presidency, 1988.New York: Simon & Schuster,- Postmortem of the 1988 presidential cam-
paign.
Polsby, Nelson W., and Aaron Wildavsky.Presidential
Elections: Contemporar y Strategies of American Elec-
toral Politics.New York: Free Press, 1991. General
work detailing presidential campaign successes
and failures of the 1980’s.
Rhonda L. Smith
See also Bentsen, Lloyd; Bush, George H. W.; Elec-
tions in the United States, 1988; Horton, William;
Reagan, Ronald; Reagan Democrats.Dupont Plaza Hotel fire
The Event A massive fire at a hotel-casino along
Puerto Rico’s upscale north shore killed ninety-
seven people
Date December 31, 1986
Place El Condado Beach, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Deliberately set as part of an escalating contract dispute be-
tween hotel management and labor, the catastrophic New
Year’s Eve fire not only exposed the hotel’s inadequate emer-
gency preparedness but also underscored wider economic
problems confronting the Caribbean tourist industr y.
During December, 1986, the management of the
Dupont Plaza Hotel, a luxury resort along Puerto
Rico’s Gold Coast, had tried unsuccessfully to rene-
gotiate a contract with hotel workers, who were
threatening to strike during the lucrative holiday
season. The hotel had received menacing letters and
even bomb threats, and disgruntled workers had
set three small fires trying to unsettle hotel opera-
tions and encourage a favorable settlement. How-
ever, concerned guests had been reassured by man-
agement that the hotel had not been specifically
threatened. When management would not concede
to union demands for higher wages, the union voted
at an emergency mid-afternoon meeting on New
Year’s Eve to strike at midnight. Less than ten minutes
after the meeting, around 3:30p.m., three workers—
Héctor Escudero, Armando Jimenez, and José Fran-
cisco Rivera Lopez—angered over the impending
strike and intending to cause property damage to
the hotel, used cooking oil from the hotel’s kitchens
to start a fire in a second-floor storage room filledThe Eighties in America Dupont Plaza Hotel fire 301