In one of the presidential debates with GHW Bush in 1988, a question was asked of Dukakis what he would do if his Kitty were raped and murdered. His emotionless response offended many women and hurt him in the polls (not as much as the tank ride, but it did hurt him)
Soft on crime Dukakis let convicted murderer Willie Horton out of prison for a weekend leave whereupon he raped and tortured a couple. The Willie Horton ads did him in.
Yup, that debate moment really sunk him.
I remember Jon Lovitz on SNL playing Dukakis, and saying during the debate “How am I losing to this guy?”