Running from Dukakis? [Kerry Was His Lt. Gov.]

Boston Globe ^ | 9/16/2003 | Joan Vennochi

[Hon]

Running from Dukakis?

By Joan Vennochi, 9/16/2003

CALL IT coincidence or call it fate. The day after Senator John F. Kerry ended his presidential campaign announcement tour in Boston, Michael S. Dukakis, the last Massachusetts politician to win the Democratic presidential nomination, was speaking to a classroom filled with law students. It was a vivid reminder of the differences between the two presidential hopefuls. "I am blessed," Dukakis told the students, summing up his life, political and personal, and urging them to get involved in campaigns and public service no matter what their politics.

Blessed? In 1988 Dukakis lost the general election to the elder George Bush after the Republican presidential nominee defined, denounced, and trounced him as "a Massachusetts liberal." Dukakis proudly remains one. Speaking as forcefully as ever about universal health care, he told the students he finds it incredible that "the country is incapable of doing what Richard Nixon, of all people, proposed in 1971."

Dukakis also strongly championed Kerry's presidential campaign -- even though he called Kerry's nemesis and challenger, Howard Dean, "a good guy" and "a pretty good governor" and added that he agrees with the former Vermont governor on Iraq that "going in was a mistake." Dukakis and his wife wife attended a recent fund-raiser for Kerry that was hosted by Senator Ted Kennedy in Hyannis.

Dukakis's loyalty to Kerry, his onetime lieutenant governor, springs to mind after reading this sentence in a recent AP story following a sitdown between Kerry and AP editors: "While he would `absolutely and with pleasure' welcome Senator Ted Kennedy on the campaign trail, Kerry noted that he didn't always agree with former Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis, the 1988 Democratic nominee who lost to Bush's father." (The Kerry campaign was asked last Friday to elaborate on Kerry's comments and specify Kerry's differences with Dukakis. Yesterday afternoon there was still no response.)

[Hon]

Just another minor thing we hardly ever hear about Kerry--he was Dukakis' Lieutenant Governor.

[TheBigB]

He also served in Vietnam. (we rarely hear about this)

[zbigreddogz]

He's a bit harder to pigionhole as a new england liberal, but there is no doubt that he is one. He'll fight much more effectively then Dukakis, but I think he'll ultimately fall.

[Steven W.]

Karl Rove is licking his chops at the prospect of having Kerry - the guy looks like Frankenstein and his liberal positions are just to the left of Dukakis. The only reason the DemoncRATs are voting for him now is that they're trying to put Dean in a box & run as fast as they can from the Insane Wing of the DemoncRAT Party.

[cake_crumb]

"He also served in Vietnam. (we rarely hear about this)"

Did he really? Wow, he sure doesn't talk about it does he?

[bobjam]

I'm surprised Dean hasn't dredged up the Willy Horton fiasco. After all, it was his supporter Algore who brought it up in 1988. Just for kicks we could pull out those old commercials showing pictures of Boston Harbor in order to enlighten the nation of Kerry's environmental record the last time he held an executive office.

[ambrose]

[Callahan]

Wonder if Lurch's skittishness has anyhing to do with this pic? God, they , make a perfect team. Can we be sure that Dukakis is not living in Kerry's skull cavity controlling his movements like the alien in "Men in Black"?

[ElkGroveDan]

OOOOH, I never knew this. Anyone know where we could find some Dukakis-Kerry buttons or signs?

[Hon]

"He's a bit harder to pigionhole as a new england liberal"

I don't know why--he's got the most liberal voting record and rating of all of the candidates running.

[Hon]

[GiveEmDubya]

Politics1.com.

Go to the Massachusetts page and scroll down--there is a picture of the 1982 Dukakis/Kerry button. It's a start...

[gg188]

I PRAY that someone prints off a million of those buttons if Lurch becomes the Dem nominee!

[longtermmemmory]

Last I heard, Dukakis was a college professor in south FLORIDA!

[Hon]

Yep.

"Since June of 1991, Dukakis has been a visiting professor at Northeastern University's political science department and has also taught in the senior executive program for State and Local managers at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He has also taught for the past three years at Florida Atlantic University."

http://www.hri.org/hri/dukakis.html

[Hon]

What's weird is that instead of promoting his Dukakis legacy, Kerry fans promote a total fiction:

[Salvation]

Bumping this tonight.

Dick Morris was on Hannity and Colmes and he said that the three words that would bring John Kerry down are:

"Dukakis' Lieutenant Governor"

[Salvation]

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