Liberals Versus Reagan

The 15th of 20 articles on the Democratic National Conventions

1984: A Tale of Two Cities

Dates: July 16 - 19, 1984

Venue: Moscone Center, 747 Howard Street, San Francisco CA. Opened in 1981, San Francisco’s largest convention center is named after George Moscone, the mayor who was assassinated in 1978.

Events: Republicans seized on the convention’s venue in one of the nation’s most liberal cities to call Democrats “liberal” in every way imaginable. If Walter Mondale had a nickel every time Republicans called him liberal, he would have had enough money to beat Reagan.

Mondale had a hard fought battle with Colorado Senator Gary Hart in the primaries. Hart actually won more contests, 26 to 20, but Mondale kept in close and won several large states. At the convention, Mondale won with 2191 delegates to Hart’s 1201. The Reverend Jesse James finished third with 466 votes, setting the stage for his 1988 race.

Mondale made history by selecting New York Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate. Delegates approved the selection by acclamation.

There were several notable speeches at the convention. New York Governor Mario Cuomo gave his “Tale of Two Cities” speech as the keynote. And Rev. Jackson delivered his “Rainbow Coalition” speech.

One first for the 1984 convention was the “Protest Playpen,” an area specifically designated for protestors to gather. Every Democratic Convention since has had a protest zone.

Election 1984: Despite the fact that unemployment was still at 7.5 percent, Ronald Reagan ran on the theme of “Morning in America.” Reagan blew Mondale away, 49 states to 1, with Mondale winning only his home state of Minnesota. The Electoral College stood at 525 to 13. In the popular vote, Reagan won 54.4 million to 37.5 million, a full 18 point difference.

1988: “A Silver Foot in His Mouth”

Dates: July 18 - 21, 1988

Venue: The Omni, 100 Techwood Drive, Atlanta GA. Home of the Atlanta Hawks, the arena was torn down in 1997. State Farm Arena replaced it. Some areas of the CNN Center complex which were tangential to the convention still exist.

Events: Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis had won the nomination with 30 primary victories and 10.4 million votes. Rev. Jesse Jackson had 13 wins and almost 7 million votes.

At the convention, Dukakis was elected on the first ballot with 2877 votes to Jackson’s 1219 votes.

Due to his strong second place finish, supporters of Jackson were pushing Dukakis to put the minister on the ticket. Dukakis, hoping to appeal to conservatives, chose Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen.

Hoping to appeal to television audiences, Democrats used pastel colors as the backdrop for the convention. Republicans made great sport of this to paint Dukakis as liberal.

In her keynote, Ann Richards blasted her fellow Texan, Vice President George Herbert Walker Bush, stating “He was born with a silver foot in his mouth.”

Celebrity Watch: “Saint Elsewhere” star Ed Begley Jr was a delegate from California. Carly Simon performed the convention theme song “Turn The Tide.” Morgan Fairchild met Gary Hart, and Rob Lowe got in trouble for making a sex tape.

My Convention: Atlanta was the first convention I attended. CNN was still fairly new, and the convention was literally in their backyard. They had reporters everywhere and I was interviewed live twice. I also got to meet George McGovern, Gary Hart and Bill Clinton. I told Clinton I liked his nomination speech for Dukakis, and he appreciated it.

Election 1988: Despite choosing a guy who couldn’t spell potato correctly as his running mate, Bush still won. Bush attack dog Lee Atwater was able to paint Dukakis as a dangerous liberal, who freed criminals and burned flags, and the Vice President coasted to a fairly easy victory.

Bush carried 40 states to 10 for Dukakis (an improvement over 1984), with Bush winning the Electoral College 426 to 111. Bush won the popular vote 48.9 million to 41.8 million.

Bush was the first sitting Vice President to be elected since 1836.