From Library Journal
In Dukakis: An American Odyssey ( LJ 4/15/88), Charles Kenney and Robert L. Turner identified the Massachusetts governor as a person who displayed steadiness of purpose, discipline, and determination in achieving his goals. In this book, journalists Black and Oliphant paint quite a different picture, going into great detail to explain where and how Dukakis's presidential campaign strategy went awry. Dukakis's numerous mistakes are fully outlined here, all of them "colossal, stupendous, dramatic, intricate . . . ." Dukakis, for example, often left himself open to attacks from the Bush camp, especially in the case of his espousal of prison furlough in the face of its glaringly bad example, William Horton. While this will not be the final analysis of the 1988 Democratic campaign, it is an auspicious first attempt. Highly recommended for most libraries.
- Gary D. Barber, SUNY at Fredonia Lib.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Gary D. Barber, SUNY at Fredonia Lib.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
As usual, the postmortems of presidential elections based on "insider" accounts have begun to flood the book market. Black and Oliphant, two Boston Globe investigative journalists, have diverged from the Germond and Witcover or Goldman and Matthews mold of examining each of the candidates to train their sites on their fellow citizen from Massachusetts, Michael Dukakis. They analyze why his campaign seemed to selfdestruct after the euphoria of the primaries and nomination. Clearly, a prophet is without honor in his own land. Black and Oliphant, adopting the "kick the man while he is down" approach-evident in past analyses of McGovern's race in 197Z Carter's in 1980, and Mondale's in 1984--plumb the depths of the campaign staff which was incapable of producing a "winning" message and selling it even to the candidate. Not surprisingly, they unearth self-serving staffers pointing the finger at the Duke. The Estriches, Sassos and the like will want to be involved in campaigns for president in the future-, is it any surprise that Black and Oliphant find them characterizing their candidate as a methodical, brooding, close-minded, indecisive, colorless, fireless technocrat who lacked the stomach for the low Toad of mud-slinging politics? In the process of this character assassination, the authors make the now ahnost cliche references to the clear sins of the Bush carnpaign involving the Willie Horton case, Boston Harbor, and so on. No mention is made of why the brilliant staffers let the picture of the Duke with the heltnet go out. No question is asked of the Democratic party for nominating what the authors see after the fact as damaged goods. Where were those in the kriow when he was made standard beater? Black and Oliphant make no attempt to ask the lasting question: Why the Democrats have failed to win the White House rather than why Dukakis lost the election? When will journalists examine the groups and issues and not the packagers? It does little good to shoot the messenger when it is the message and the producers of that message that are flawed. This book is exciting writing and a case study in staff disloyalty and journalistic pique for Dukakis' inability to do what his Democratic predecessors couldn't do. Win. -- From Independent Publisher
