European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - November 11, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes James j. Kilpatr1ck pres dense eco capitalized on pocket Foo a Issue. Washington wednesday mornings never change. In the world of politics the same Post election questions present themselves and generally the same answers emerge. Why did George Bush win Why did Michael Dukakis lose Bush won and won big for one overriding reason. Call it Prosperity or Call it the Economy Morcall it the pocketbook Issue. By whatever name it is inc key Factor in a presidential election. Most of our people Over most of the country Sec themselves As relatively contented with their lives. The Reagan year shave been Good years. Unemployment is Down per Sonal incomes Are up interest rates Are moderate inflation seems under control. If Ilain t broke Don t fix it. As he inheritor of Reagan s Good Fortune Bush was in a position to capitalize an the pock Lbook asset. The Only specific Promise he made in the Long Campaign a Promise he May come to regret was his Promise not to recommend or to approve any increase in Feder Al taxes. Ii is a Promise with wide Appeal. Many Liber als never have understood this fact of political life. Bush understood it very Well. Oiher factors of course contributed to Bush s Victory. He ran a Well financed and Well managed Campaign. He found Waves of popular sentiment patriotism if you please and an indefinable suspicion of liberalism and he Rode  Wilh the skill of a Waikiki surfer. In his sometimes bumbling Way he conveyed an image of experience and grand fatherly goodness. He made no awful mistakes. Why did Dukakis lose the Massachusetts governor could not effectively Challenge the perception of peace and Prosperity. He had nothing credible of his own to Olter by Way of improvement. The specific programs he advanced in such areas As health insurance and student Loans ignited no fires of enthusiasm for much of the Campaign he conveyed an image that was close to smugness and not far from arrogance. His repeated attacks on a. Danforth Quayle did him More harm than Good. Other reasons purely political reasons contributed to his defeat. Dukakis tended to ignore the advice of seasoned professionals who might have helped him. He made Little use of established demo cratic organizations. He never could figure out the pro Blum of Jesse Jackson. His inexperienced staff issued and bickered Over Campaign lactic. In the end the much maligned pollsters had in exactly right. Bush claimed 54 percent of the popular vote lie won a landslide in the electoral College. Bush apparently ran Well among Young voters and Middle in come families. Preliminary data indicate that he won about half of the Catholic Vole and 45 percent of the Union vote. He held on loan estimated 80 percent of he Reagan democrats. Blacks went overwhelmingly to Dukakis but their turnout fell off. The Campaign turned up old worries. Some hard Jim Fain thinking needs to be done about the role of television in our elections. The two conventions lost any sense of spontaneity under he domination of the  was staged and choreographed to please the viewers at Home. After the conventions both Candi dates grappled to win sound Biles on the evening news. As a consequence both descended to negative campaigning that belied their individual characters. We need to reflect upon the exhausting length of a presidential Campaign. These things go on too Long and they Cost Loo much. Contributions of5 00,000 at a crack May not amount to bribes but they leave a bad taste. If a constitutional Way can be found to limit Campaign contributions we ought to make an Effort in that direction. Something a wrong when a Doxen members of the House running unopposed for re election Benefit from $500,000 each in gifts from Friendly lobbyists. For George Bush beating Dukakis was the easy part. The hard part lies ahead. He will tale office on Jan. 20 with no particular mandate and he will have Todeal with a Congress in which democratic membership has slightly increased. He has made some undefined promises to seek increases in spending for Edu cation Day care and National defense. He wants to freeze Many popular programs at current Levels. In these endeavours he will need All the cooperation he can Muster on Capitol Hill. Bush Wilt do Well. He May Lack the Charisma of a Reagan or a Kennedy but his warmth and decency will carry him a Long Way. As Dukakis said on election night he s our president  give Ibe Guy a Hance.  Universal press Syndicate. Runway election process be a for Washington far from Cele Brating the nation was in mourning wednesday for winners and losers alike it was the most depressing election in recent history. The key return came in Long before the votes were counted. Though the turnout was higher than anticipated most of those who cast ballots held their noses. Mainly that s because neither George Bush nor Michael Dukakis belongs in shouting distance of the presidency. To a lesser extent i t s because of the disgrace Ful campaigns they put us through. Bush was the dirty one. His clique now yells the playground excuse that the other Guy started the Light but that s absurd. Lee Alwater Roger Ailes and Bob Teeter planned this mud slinging extravaganza last summer Well before the democratic convention and briefed it to any reporter who asked. They lest mar cled Willie Horton the pledge and such irrelevant nonsense Long before Ted Kennedy raised his Little gibe about where was George the Bush Campaign deviated from its script Only in clicking so Long with these particular mud balls. They could t be Lieve Dukakis would let them get away with Al indefinitely. He did and it was working so they Clung to the Low Road. Dukakis sin was priggish Ness and a stubborn stupidity. He not Only refused to respond and counterattack Bush s manifold vulnerabilities. He also stuck to the notion that he could win Blue collars by masquerading As a closet read Antic. By the Lime he went Back to democratic populism it was too late. His Campaign was As empty of tactical skill As Bush s was of Content. He refused to accept the necessity in communicate ing with a National audience if repetition and sticking to it few Basic themes. He stumped As if he wire at a Brookline faculty Tea. Neither of these two Bush Lea Juers fooled anybody. You could seat the fans either personally grabbed in one Boeing As surely As Dukakis is a government Mechanic of Small vision. Bush is a Power Load of none from Nixon to Rea Gan he has fawned Over whoever was on lop shifting convictions As blithely As Nancy Sheds designer gowns. His Only constant is lust for office a career dedication he reaffirmed in inc Campaign by elevating the Chase above questions of personal Honor. In the absence of intelligent opposition such demagoguery seems to have succeeded cry the beloved country what landed us in such a dismal mcss5 -.-. Essentially a runaway nominating process. A candidate now has to Pur in four to five years of full time ire que Nelly humiliating Drudgery to have a shot Al winning a party s nod. Not Many serious people of intelligence and bal Ance will accept the role. To win the nomination of the party out of Power in 1992, a candidate u Al ready behind the curve if he has not begun lining up support in All but the smallest Salci front people who Are will ing to work almost full time and Bat no assembled a framework for megabucks fund raising., we need to change this process but must proceed with care. Repair efforts in the past have Only made things worse. Regional primaries with free air time fort debates Are elements of a possible solution but the matter needs thoughtful study preferably As far from the cur rent party Power centers As possible even a glance at global economics population trends and environmental de gradation shows How Little Lime remains. The opinions expressed in the columns and cartoons on Iolj Page represent Thott of the authors and Art in no Wiy to be considered As representing the Rieuf of the Stan and stripes or the United states Goren ment. ,.-.