George H. W. Bush
Tuesday, November 8th, 1988.
The White House.
11:47 PM, Washington D. C.
[1]
"
And we can now project with absolute certainty that Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis has carried Ohio, the Buckeye state, and its 23 Electoral Votes. With that victory, Dukakis has crossed the threshold of 270 needed to be elected President. Once more, Ohio proves itself the state that determines a winner since going to President Truman forty years ago. DUkakis, now the President-elect, will be inaugurated as the 41st President of the United States on January 20th, 1989, while Vice President George H. W. Bush will return home to Texas, likely to live out the remainder of his years..."
The news anchor on CBS announced as the nation's 43rd Vice President watched the results coming in. Bush gave a sigh of disappointment as he looked at the nation filling in. Much of the nation had already been called but some states, like Delaware, Louisiana, Texas, and Kansas from the like had yet to be called while others hadn't had their polls close yet. At least he won Florida. However, it seemed his loss brought down the downballot too, with Mack and Burns likely to lose and Lott's race still not won. If Lott lost, like Mack and Burns, then that would mean four pick-up seats and Washington might also go to the Democrats as well, meaning the Democrats might have a Majority of seventeen or eighteen seats. This loss hurt.
He had wanted to be elected President, oh did he ever. He tried to be elected in 1980, tried winning the Primaries, but Reagan proved his better in the primaries and when Ford all but said no to the Vice Presidency, Bush reluctantly agreed to be the Gipper's running mate as a back-up option. He spent eight years being in the shadow of Reagan, doing a lot of foreign policy things that Reagan was simply unable to do. The man then began to suffer from cognitive decline, maybe Dementia, which lessened his ability to do the job, pulling Bush into the spotlight more and more. It was all set for Bush to run for President, he was the frontrunner, he was the obvious choice, and he was the popular choice and then there's the fact that he was from a state like Texas and he was moderate and not as Conservative as Reagan. And then Biden, that gaffe machine from Delware, looked prime to be the Democratic nominee. He was all set for an easy ride to the Presidency.
And then Iran-Contra was revealed...followed by the recession...and then Biden plagarizing Kinnock was revealed...It was all downhill from there. Dukakis handily won the primaries over Jackson and Gore after Biden dropped out. Dukakis was boring, drab, dull, cold, an uncharismatic mess from Massachusetts but he was the son of Greek Orthodox immigrants, Orthodox himself, and had three terms as Massachusetts Governor during the Massachusetts Miracle. Bush hoped that picking Quayle would offset him and then he proved utterly useless for the ticket, especially against the more experienced Hollings of South Carolina. He was down twenty at the conventions but at least he had seemingly brought it to a more narrow margin than many expected.
He looked around him. Baker, his campaign chair, Barbara, his lovely wife, George, Jeb, Neil, Marvin, and Dorothy, his loving children, Atwater, his campaign manager, Quayle, and finally Reagan himself. They had all hoped for a chance that the polls were off, that victory could be snapped from the jaws of defeat. Atwater had tried everything, but Dukakis had run a relatively clean, non-controversial campaign and there was almost nothing to pick apart. Dukakis' manager, Sasso, seems to have a tight leash over his boss. Letting out a soft breath, he soaked in the defeat. That was it for the Bush family as far as politics go, except for Jeb, who maybe had a career in Florida if he played his cards right...if. As for everyone else, well, he supposed it would be time for them to leave politics and focus on other hobbies.
"Baker, give me the phone. It's time to give the call." He stated as he turned to his campaign chair, who had already dialed Dukakis on the phone though had yet to press the call button. The elder George hesitated for a moment before picking up the phone and pressing the call button. As he waited for the Massachusetts Governor to pick up, he looked back at the screen to see...Texas being called for Dukakis...could he have done a bit better tonight, please? Finally, Michael picked up. "Hey Michael, it's me, George. Congrats on the victory. We'll meet in the coming days to discuss transition and what needs to be handled as you prepare for President. By the way, good luck. You'll need it for the next four years." With that, he hung up the call. He saw no reason to continue it longer than a simple congratulations and wishing for good luck. With that over with, he turned to Baker. "Give me the Concession Speech. It's time to address my supporters."
Michael Dukakis
Tuesday, November 9th, 1988.
Dukakis House
12:29 AM, Brookline, Massachusetts
[2]
There was some cheering and hugging in the Dukakis residence tonight and to be fair, why wouldn't they be celebrating. Their guy got elected to the White House, an office they'll officially take in January in just three months time! Not to mention the electoral margin that they had won it by. Could the National Popular Vote margin be wider? Yes and it really should've, but they won it by a little over two and a half percent if current trends continued so that was a large enough margin already and they had won in an electoral college landslide, three hundred and forty-two electoral votes from current estimates to Bush's one hundred and ninety-six. Even worse for the Vice President, he had lost Texas, his home state, and California, the President's home state. Reaganism had been defeated and now the Massachusetts Miracle that the Governor had been so proud of could be brought on to the national stage.
Mike gave Katty, his wife, a kiss on the cheek as both smiled in victory. Tonight was a happy night, not a solemn or miserable one. Thirty minutes or so prior, he had received a call from Bush conceding the race and congratulating him on the victory, then five minutes after that, Bush publicly conceded the race and gave a solid fifteen minute speech conceding the race to him. Soon, he would have to give his victory speech to his supporters. But right now was a time for Celebration and celebrate he would. "Kitty, I think it's fair to say that today is the second happiest day of my life, and its a close second to marrying you." The Greek-American stated, smiling widely as he took in the mood at the Dukakis Household.
"Oh, Mike. I know how happy this makes you. It makes me happy too." His wife, who had been deeply hurt by the viscious attacks by the Republicans this cycle, including the one based on a rumor initiated by that mutt Atwater and perpetuated by Senator Symms in which she burned the flag to protest Vietnam, which she vehemently denied against doing. Nancy Reagan was, from some reports, a bit of a kook and so Kitty would be a major improvement over her. Of course, Mike was biased on that, since it was his wife, but could anyone blame him?
As he continued to hug his wife, he received a tap on the shoulder and he turned to see his Campaign Manager, John Stasso, who he could credit for being the man to create this victory from practically nothing. Sure, the two men had their differences, especially with how Biden was handled, but they patched things up and without Stasso, Dukakis wasn't sure if he'd be here, celebrating this victory. The governor let go of his wife and turned to give Stasso a handshake, who firmly returned it with a tight grip and large grin. "Congratulations are in order, Mr. President-elect!" He said cheerily. Dukakis remembered that this man was responsible for his 1982 comeback and was his chief of staff form four years before this moment and had also been an organizer for Ted Kennedy in Iowa in 1980 and also for Congressman Studds. All that work had led up to this moment and as the first exit polls came in, showing a ten point victory for the Governor, Dukakis had turned to the man and stated '
How does Chief of Staff sound?' with a smile, to which Sasso accepted gratefully before remarking that he had to get to work on Cabinet ideas.
Speaking of which..."I assume you have a cabinet list?" Sasso nodded and handed him a sheet of paper that had various departments and names on it, though a few blank spaces were on there.
"Apologies for the blank departments. We didn't have much time between when we began to write this up and now." Dukakis waved his hand and took in the piece of paper. On it was the following
Secretary of State : Walter Mondale (MN), Lee H. Hamilton (IN), Paul S. Sarbanes (MD), or Joe Biden (DE)
Secretary of the Treasury : William H. Gray (PA), Felix G. Rohatyn (NY), Lloyd Bentsen (TX), or Robert Strauss (FL)
Secretary of Defense : Sam Nunn (GA), Les Aspin (WI), Bobby R. Inman (TX), or Al Gore (TN)
Attorney General : Paul Brountas (MA), Susan Estrich (MA), Derek Bok (MA), or E. (Kika) de la Garza (TX)
Secretary of the Interior : Bruce Babbitt (AZ) or Richard Lamm (CO)
Secretary of Agriculture : Dan Glickman (KS), E. (Kika) de la Garza (TX), Charles W. Stenholm (MN), Jim Hightower (TX), or Jim Nichols (MN)
Secretary of Commerce : Bruce Babbitt (AZ) or James J. Blanchard (MI)
Secretary of Labor : James J. Blanchard (MI) or Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC)
Secretary of Health and Human Services : Ted Kennedy (MA) or Dianne Feinstein (CA)
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development : Ed Koch (NY) or Paul Tsongas (MA)
Secretary of Transportation : Tom Bradley (CA) or Frederick P. Salvucci (MA)
Secretary of Energy : Al Gore (TN) or Lee Iaccoca (CA)
Secretary of Veterans Affairs : Al Gore (TN) or Ed Derwinski (IL) [When it reaches your desk Mr. President!]
Chief of Staff : John Sasso (MA)
Dukakis gave the sheet of paper several times before looking at Sasso and began to speak to him. "This is quite the expansive list of options you have here, almost no blank spaces. Color me impressed." A clap on the back of his campaign manager let him know that he had done well with just seven hours notice to write up this document. Sasso simply nodded and stated that he had these ideas floating around in his head for some time before now. "Alright, here's what I want you to do. Contact every member on this list, every single one of them and offer each of them the following jobs, remember to write them down." He looked and saw Sasso was already prepared, Pen and Paper in hand.
"Mondale, give him a top job, State Secretary, I want him as the head of that department. He's the former Vice President and was the nominee before me, I think this is a decent prize for now and I could use a lot of his advice. Sarbanes, made him Deputy Secretary of State. He's a former classmate and deserves a good spot for his service. Hamilton, National Security Advisor, he's well suited for the position. Biden, ask if he's interested in the Ambassadorship to either the Holy See or to Ireland. It's not too important a job where he could outshine me but it still gives him something to do and acts as an olive branch. That's the state department.
Treasury, ask Bentsen if he wants to be on top. Give Strauss position as Deputy Secretary, Gray either Federal Reserve Chair or the Treasurer and if Gray takes one of them, give the other position to Rohatyn. Defense, give the position to Nunn, he's more than earned the position, then give Deputy Secretary to Inman and give an Under Secretary position to Aspin. Attorney General, I'm tapping Brountas but I will give Deputy Attorney General to Estrich, Associate Attorney General for Bok, and Solicitor General for Garza. If not, go for the next best option.
Give Lamm Interior, Babbitt Commerce, and Norton Labor, because I doubt Blanchard wants to leave Michigan, for now, at least. Tap Hightower for Agriculture Secretary, Nichols for Deputy Secretary, and give Undersecretary positions to Glickman, Garza, and Stenholm, and if Garza refuses, offer him Solicitor General. I doubt Ted would want to leave the Senate for a cabinet position but it never hurts to ask, but also contact Feinstein just in case. Tsongas should head HUD but I want Koch to be his deputy. Same case with Transportation, give Fred the top job but have Tom be his deputy, as well as with Energy, ask Gore to lead the Department with Lee as his deputy. If Gore says no to heading Energy, ask if he'd be interested in heading the EPA. That means that Ed gets VA, for now at least and you, as promised, get Chief of Staff. Find me a Press Secretary, a Counselor, OMB director, Communications Director, Trade Representative, and potential SCOTUS appointments." He finished as Sasso looked with a questioning glance, his paper filled with notes and what Mike had wanted. "This cabinet is going to be a compromise and unity cabinet and we have more than enough House and Senate Seats to give up some ground there. I mean, we might have fifty nine or even sixty senate seats by night's end and I doubt the Republicans will ever be able to take the House with Michels in the leadership for them and Cheney near it, so what's the harm, right?" He answered. A shrug was his response.
"I don't know, Mike. All these people in one cabinet? They might butt heads way too often and you're leaving yourself open to needing a new team or clearing out your Justice department if you run in 1992. However, for the time being, I'll look for picks for the other positions and call the guys on the list. Just remember, this list was a guideline, not a set of promises, alright?" A Concerned glance and Mike gave a gentle nod, allowing the man to leave. Did Michael have the same concerns as John? Yes he did, but he wanted the party to be one unified bloc behind him and to give Democrats a clear line of succession for 1996 if he won a second term. If he lost 1992, he feared his cabinet could lead to a political free for all in the 96 primaries, but that was the balancing act of politics. You always have to be three steps ahead of the next situation or you would break down and crumble into nothing.
But enough about that. That is for the inaugurated President Dukakis to worry about, not the President-Elect. All he should be concerned about right now is celebrating, giving a victory speech, and setting up a proper transition team.
Governor Michael Stanley Dukakis (D-MA)/United States Senator Ernest Frederick "Fritz" Hollings (D-SC) : 342/50.77% (46,504,982) [25 States + DC] ✓Vice President of the United States George Herbert Walker Bush (R-TX)/United States Senator James Danforth Quayle (R-IN) : 196/48.24% (44,187,489) [25 States]Former United States Representative Ronald Ernest Paul (L-TX)/Former State Representative Andre Verne Marrou (L-AK) : 0.47% (429,165)Others : 0.28% (243,983)Acitivist Lenora Branch Fulani (NA-PA)/Various : 0.24% (215,536)
November 10th to January 20th to be followed in next update.
[1] Source is :
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/11/11/metro/george-hw-bush-dealt-with-his-loss-1992-very-differently-than-president-trump-has/[2] Source is :
https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2015/02/13/dukakis-reflects-failed-presidential-run-new-documentary/CS9Uanu937k5ifwkbws8YP/story.htmlSource for Dukakis Cabinet choices -
https://www.csmonitor.com/1988/1025/adcab.html and
https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/a-new-era-a-history-of-the-dukakis-administration.387596/page-2Hope you enjoyed and I'll give the winner of my poll a TL, just this one I really wanted to do more than anything.
