Reagan's popularity (which had come back strong from its late 1986/early 1987 lows from Iran Contra), a perceived strong economy, and Bush's no new taxes pledge were undoubtedly effective for Bush's eventual victory. Plus, the Kitty Dukakis issues in the second debate hurt Dukakis badly. After the second debate, Dukakis was behind by 17 points (a big 34 point swing in just a matter of a few months) and was expected to win only about 30-35 electoral votes.
To his credit, Dukakis realized by then that he was way behind, and he focused on the "Inside Straight" of 17-18 states to pick up the electoral victory. It wasn't close, but he closed the overall margin considerably by Election Day. Dukakis did pick up parts of the country to create the blueprint that Bill Clinton capitalized on in 1992. And the Democrats held both the House and Senate throughout Bush's term in office.
Well said. I think Dukakis was similar to John Kerry politically and if he had focused on his "Inside Straight" policy he might've managed to get upwards of 200 E.V. and get close to winning the P.V. but I agree that it would've been very tough to defeat Bush because of Reagan's popularity.