One of Shaw’s most notable moments came while moderating the second debate of the 1988 Presidential Election.
In the first question of the debate, he asked Democrat presidential nominee Michael Dukakis a highly charged question regarding the death penalty while naming his wife.
“Governor, if Kitty Dukakis were raped and murdered, would you favor an irrevocable death penalty for the killer?” Shaw asked.
Without missing a beat, Dukakis replied: “No, I don’t, Bernard. And I think you know that I’ve opposed the death penalty during all of my life.”
It is believed by many that Dukakis’s tone-deaf answer to Shaw’s question was the key moment that won George H.W. Bush the presidency in 1988.
I disagree. This is the moment Dukakis lost the presidency:
