and it s always hard to ask voters to give the same party three presidential terms in a row. bush was strung by a running mate, dan quail to be his vice presidential running mate but even though dan quail was liked enough as a senator, as a potential vice president he was seen as not ready for prime time. seen as not up to the task of being a heart beat away from the presidency. and in the summer of 1988 when george h.w. bush was on the ropes and looked like he wasn t going to win way down in the polls and looked like dukakis was going to beat him, he reached out to an old friend for help to come back and win the election. that debate in los angeles was held on october 13th, 1988. two days before the debate on october 11th, george h.w. bush
win that election. that debate in los angeles was held on october 13th, 1988. two days before the debate on october 11th, vice president george h.w. bush wrote this note. check it out. ted, as i head for the coast, i want you to know i got your last two letters. i think the quayle attacks have not hurt long run. now off to the last debate. best wishes, g. now, the ted that vice president g was writing to there was the honorable ted agnew. spiro agnew he was writing to. spiro agnew, the disgraced convicted former vice president of the united states who had been absent from public life at that point for 15 years since agnew had had to plead to tax evasion charges and resign the vice presidency in 1973 in a way that quite narrowly avoided him going to prison. two days before that last key presidential debate in los angeles in 1988 may be the most
couple, stabbing the man and repeatedly raping his girlfriend. weekend prison passes, dukakis on crime. that ad aired on cable in two new england markets, but received massive national media coverage amplifying bush s message and elevating crime. context is important here. generation ago, in 1988, violent crime rates were soaring. there was an intense public clamoring for the death penalty, something dukakis had long opposed. all of this led to october 13th, 1988, 25 years ago tonight, dukakis and bush squared off for the final debate at ucla s pauley pavilion. the moderator, bernard shaw, introduced the panel, welcomed the candidates, explained the rules and then asked this as his opening question. governor, if kitty dukakis were raped and murdered, would you favor an irrevocable death penalty for the killer?