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The Colorado Primary
April 4th, 1988
As the day progressed, George H.W. Bush's mood turned from dark to jubilant.
It began, in the technical sense, the day before. With the election hanging in the balance, the Vice President didn't have any time to sleep, let alone fulfill the office of the Vice Presidency. He had been up all night, looking at polls and graphs and advertisements. To be specific, the advertisement.
Dan Quayle - the name itself burned Bush's tongue when he spoke it out loud - had called him a loser. The no name, do nothing hick senator from Indiana had referred to the Vice President as a loser.
Bush had called Senator Dole after he first saw the advertisement - which also attacked Dole - and the two had shared a rare moment of appreciation and camaraderie in the heat of the political battle.
Not only that, but they had shared a promise. Whatever happened, Quayle could not become the nominee.
It wasn't just Bush and Dole who thought that the commercial was in bad taste. Bush noticed that at his rallies after the commercial aired, not only were the crowds at his rallies bigger, but they were more and more raucous and angrier. He had been concerned that he could not match Quayle's intensity and vitriol, but it had been Quayle that had sparked the increase in intensity after all.
In a state that had been seen as a tossup between Quayle and Bush, with Dole running a close third, just a few days ago had slowly turned into solid Bush country. Bush won nearly 40% of the vote, with the rest split nearly down the middle by the other two candidates.
He had finally won one of the close ones. This wasn't a northeastern state, or his home state; this was one that could've easily been another close loss.
Atwater, and Bush as well, saw this as halfway to the knockout punch. Now all they needed was Wisconsin.
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In unsurprising fashion, Gary Hart comfortably won his home state of Colorado over his last challenger, who had spent no time in the state for nearly a week.
While the votes rolled in, Jesse Jackson was in Milwaukee's Third Ward, running on a last ditch effort to save his campaign. Meanwhile, Hart was in his hometown of Aspen, celebrating with his family and friends. The dream of the Presidency was becoming an increasingly realistic venture, and Hart couldn't be happier.
For what it was worth, Hunter S. Thompson was asked whether he'd voted, to which he responded that he hadn't. When asked why, he retorted that "none of the uptight bastards came out to visit me."
Hart wouldn't wait for long to make his next move, however. His campaign could sense that the deathblow could come in Wisconsin. If Jackson lost there, the support and funds would dry up and Hart would have the clear path to the nomination.
If anything, it was becoming increasingly clear that the Democratic Party's unification would be much easier than the Republican's. Despite the desperation of the Jackson campaign, they had stayed on the issues throughout, relying on the power of the grassroots to try and retain hope.
Internally, the Democratic Party began to wonder who the Hart brain-trust would pick as the Vice Presidential nominee if given the chance. A list had been compiled among the operatives; most were from either the South or the Northeast. There were favorites, but the ultimate pick was still a mystery.
As the day progressed, George H.W. Bush's mood turned from dark to jubilant.
It began, in the technical sense, the day before. With the election hanging in the balance, the Vice President didn't have any time to sleep, let alone fulfill the office of the Vice Presidency. He had been up all night, looking at polls and graphs and advertisements. To be specific, the advertisement.
Dan Quayle - the name itself burned Bush's tongue when he spoke it out loud - had called him a loser. The no name, do nothing hick senator from Indiana had referred to the Vice President as a loser.
Bush had called Senator Dole after he first saw the advertisement - which also attacked Dole - and the two had shared a rare moment of appreciation and camaraderie in the heat of the political battle.
Not only that, but they had shared a promise. Whatever happened, Quayle could not become the nominee.
It wasn't just Bush and Dole who thought that the commercial was in bad taste. Bush noticed that at his rallies after the commercial aired, not only were the crowds at his rallies bigger, but they were more and more raucous and angrier. He had been concerned that he could not match Quayle's intensity and vitriol, but it had been Quayle that had sparked the increase in intensity after all.
In a state that had been seen as a tossup between Quayle and Bush, with Dole running a close third, just a few days ago had slowly turned into solid Bush country. Bush won nearly 40% of the vote, with the rest split nearly down the middle by the other two candidates.
He had finally won one of the close ones. This wasn't a northeastern state, or his home state; this was one that could've easily been another close loss.
Atwater, and Bush as well, saw this as halfway to the knockout punch. Now all they needed was Wisconsin.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In unsurprising fashion, Gary Hart comfortably won his home state of Colorado over his last challenger, who had spent no time in the state for nearly a week.
While the votes rolled in, Jesse Jackson was in Milwaukee's Third Ward, running on a last ditch effort to save his campaign. Meanwhile, Hart was in his hometown of Aspen, celebrating with his family and friends. The dream of the Presidency was becoming an increasingly realistic venture, and Hart couldn't be happier.
For what it was worth, Hunter S. Thompson was asked whether he'd voted, to which he responded that he hadn't. When asked why, he retorted that "none of the uptight bastards came out to visit me."
Hart wouldn't wait for long to make his next move, however. His campaign could sense that the deathblow could come in Wisconsin. If Jackson lost there, the support and funds would dry up and Hart would have the clear path to the nomination.
If anything, it was becoming increasingly clear that the Democratic Party's unification would be much easier than the Republican's. Despite the desperation of the Jackson campaign, they had stayed on the issues throughout, relying on the power of the grassroots to try and retain hope.
Internally, the Democratic Party began to wonder who the Hart brain-trust would pick as the Vice Presidential nominee if given the chance. A list had been compiled among the operatives; most were from either the South or the Northeast. There were favorites, but the ultimate pick was still a mystery.
- Meyer London
- Word Count: 580