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 A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Lloyd Bentsen Lloyd Millard Bentsen Jr. (February 11, 1921 – May 23, 2006) was an American politician who was a four-term United States Senator (1971–1993) from Texas and the Democratic Party nominee for vice president in 1988 on the Michael Dukakis ti ...

of Texas for vice president. The chair of the convention was Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives

Jim Wright James Claude Wright Jr. (December 22, 1922 – May 6, 2015) was an American politician who served as the 48th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 1989. He represented Texas's 12th congressional district as a ...

Speakers

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 George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

was "born with a silver foot in his mouth". This speech was listed as #38 in American Rhetoric's Top 100 Speeches of the 20th Century. Arkansas governor Bill Clinton gave a very long and widely jeered nomination speech on the 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." In one of the subsequent presidential debates, when questioned about the general alleged "negativity" of the campaign, Bush cited the ''ad hominem'' attacks against him at the Convention as the root cause.

Production

The organizers for the convention chose

pastel color Pastels or pastel colors belong to a pale family of colors, which, when described in the HSV color space, have high value and low saturation. They are named after an artistic medium made from pigment and solid binding agents, similar to ...

s 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 Azure may refer to: Colour * Azure (color), a hue of blue ** Azure (heraldry) ** Shades of azure, shades and variations Arts and media * ''Azure'' (Art Farmer and Fritz Pauer album), 1987 * Azure (Gary Peacock and Marilyn Crispell album), 2013 ...

, and

eggshell An eggshell is the outer covering of a hard-shelled egg and of some forms of eggs with soft outer coats. Diversity Worm eggs Nematode eggs present a two layered structure: an external vitellin layer made of chitin that confers mechanical ...

. 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 Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...

... The liberal Democrats are trying to hide more than the colors in our flag; they are trying to hide their true colors." The theme song for the convention was composed and performed by longtime supporter and folksinger

Carly Simon Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, memoirist, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation" (No. 13), " The Right Thin ...

. Entitled ''Turn of the Tide'', this B-side of the hit single '' Let the River Run'' from the

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

motion picture '' Working Girl'' was subsequently used a few weeks later in the U.S./Russian co-production of Marlo Thomas' and

Tatiana Vedeneyeva Tatyana Veniaminovna Vedeneyeva (russian: Татьяна Вениаминовна Веденеева; born 10 July 1953) is a widely known Soviet and Russian actress and an anchor for the Soviet children's program ''Good Night, Little Ones!'' B ...

's Emmy-award-winning ABC television special '' Free to Be... a Family'' and was subsequently released on the best selling soundtrack album.

Results

A number of candidates withdrew from the race at the start of the convention as the rules stated that delegates won by withdrawn candidates could be replaced. The final contest for the nomination was between Michael Dukakis and Jesse Jackson.

Presidential nomination

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

Abortion

The platform added "the fundamental right of

reproductive choice Reproductive rights are legal rights and freedoms relating to human reproduction, reproduction and reproductive health that vary amongst countries around the world. The World Health Organization defines reproductive rights as follows: Reproduct ...

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''

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

Video of Ann Richards' keynote address at Democratic National Convention
{{DEFAULTSORT:1988 Democratic National Convention Democratic National Conventions 1988 United States presidential election Conventions in Atlanta 1980s in Atlanta 1988 in Georgia (U.S. state) Political conventions in Georgia (U.S. state) Democratic Party of Georgia Political events in Georgia (U.S. state) 1988 conferences July 1988 events in the United States