The Sleaze Factor during the 1988 Presidential Campaign Term Paper

The Sleaze Factor during the 1988 Presidential Campaign - Term Paper Example In the 1984 presidential elections, the democrats had nominated Walter Mondale to lead them in the presidential race; he however failed to be elected. The democrats therefore devised new ways, which would help them win the next election. The democrats won back the senate after president Reagan was mentioned in involvement in Iran-contra, their hopes raised that they would win presidency (Kathleen). The party leaders recruited Mario Cuomo who chose not to run for the presidency. Gary Hart the Colorado senator had shown some interest in presidency, however questions concerning extramarital affairs arose and, this tarnished his name in the campaign. The media termed him as a reputed adulterer and wife beater. He however did not give up on his campaigns. Joe Biden was also part of the race in 1988 presidential elections but Neil Kinnock accused him of using his speech illegally with only slight alterations. This led him to withdraw from the presidential pursuit. Bush was tied to scandals from the Reagan administration, which included the Iran-contra; the Dukakis camp had attacked them (Lafeber 268). Governor Dukakis was criticized that he was uninformed on matters pertaining to the military. This move devastated his public relations; Bush used this to damage his campaigns and explained that he would not make a good commander-in-chief. Republican Willie Horton attacked Dukakis that he had failed to clean up the pollution on the harbor (Lafeber 269). Rumours also spread in the media that Dukakis wife had burned the American flag to protest against Vietnam War. 1.1 Impacts of the Sleaze Factor and the Role Played By Media The first man nominated by the democrats for the presidential race did not have the qualities to suit him to be in the Whitehouse. Many mocked him that his qualities would only make a Babylonian priest and not a president. American presidential elections have always relied on the use of patriotism the republicans had appealed that Michael Dukakis was not liberal and did not consider patriotism as an important factor. Al gore campaigned as a presidential aspirant as a democratic candidate in 1988, however, he did not succeed. He was highly criticized for attacking fellow politicians, Jackson and Dukakis. These accusations brought about political scandals, which damaged the reputations of the presidential candidates. Each candidate had a nasty thing to say about the others; this however, did no help them to win. It actually confused the voters who had a task in selecting the person who would represent them as their president. George bush however won the elections despite the fact that he was accused of being associated with the Iran-Contra affair. The media played a great role in the in the investigative reporting of dishonesty and scandals facing the presidential candidates. They act as public watchdogs representing the public interest. The 1988 presidential campaigns used media to tarnish each other’s names. The media te nds to focus so much on negative campaigning rather than positivity. Most of the politicians used attack advertisements as their political strategies; they were so prevalent that it was termed as the year of negativity. 1.2 Sleaze as a Form of Campaign