Chapter 2: Storm Clouds Form
A week into the campaign, Jackson faced his first attack. Many pundits expected a widespread attack campaign on Jackson, mainly from his right flank, where some of his history with the Jewish people and his foreign policy were seen as issues for his electability. Indeed, Al Gore needled Jesse on the death penalty issue later in the campaign, although that was overshadowed by Ed Koch's constant attacks about Jesse's history with Brother Farrakhan. However, the first attack came from, to the surprise of many pundits, from his left.
Michael Dukakis sat in a comfortable second place in polling behind Jesse, trailing five points behind the reverend. Dukakis was a popular governor in his home state of Massachusetts, as the "Massachusetts Miracle" saved the economy of the state, and turned Dukakis' persona into a competent leader who could deal with tough problems. In Reagan's America, Dukakis' greek heritage and good governance of the state made him a darling in Democratic circles, as they wanted a man that could effectively overturn Reagan's conservative economic agenda.
There was just a tiny problem. Dukakis had the charm of the fish served on your dinner table. Crowds didn't shake the pavement like they did for Jesse and Gephardt, they merely clapped when Mike delivered his usual stump speech. This stump speech was mocked and summarized in local newspapers, with one local paper in Iowa saying, "Dukakis ' favorite words may just be 'competent governance'; after all, every sentence that comes out of his mouth has a noun, a verb, and Massachusetts!” With his advisors suggesting to start cracking some jokes, and Dukakis himself wanting to continue to focus on policy, his wife Kitty came up with a compromise.
Women voters were mostly undecided so far, with black women being United around Jesse. Dukakis didn’t have a particularly strong base, except for white ethnics and the suburbs. Kitty and some of his more liberal advisors said that in order to appeal more to women, he should lean in toward his abortion policy, which was quite left of the national consensus of the issue. Dukakis agreed to do a couple of lines about the issue in his next speeches in New Hampshire, and for the most part, it was met with light excitement from the crowds. Media outlets covered the shift, but for the most part, they treated it like a regular campaign pivot.
That was until in an unscripted town hall in New Hampshire, Dukakis was asked to expand on his abortion position. He got the first part of his answer across well. “The hospital room is too small and too important for the mother, the father, the doctor, and the United States’ federal government to be in.” The second part is what gained the town hall widespread coverage. “I don’t think that other candidates’ positions, that call abortion a disgrace to God, that isn’t helpful. I would specifically like to address the claims of Jesse Jackson that equates Dred Scott to Roe.”
Immediately, the issue of abortion was raised to the key issue of the campaign, as Bork’s failed nomination made it an important issue with the public. Jackson was quickly pressed to respond, with a chance to clear the narrative, and get some good press. However, this was a tight rope to straddle. If he leaned to the left, he would fall into conservative traps and would be accused of flip-flopping. If he stuck with his guns that he polished in the 70s, he could lose the media attention battle and could decimate his reputation. And if he struggled to clearly communicate his position, well, the campaign would be over. That is why Jackson tackled the issue, head on in a speech in his native South Carolina.
"I consider myself as a servant of God. God has given me the strength to call out injustices and to fight those who seek to weaken our country. In exchange for His strength that He has given me, I follow his teachings. God creates every single man and woman, to His specifications. For those who say that children born into a world where their mothers didn't plan are loved less, I am living proof that they are wrong. My mother was a teenage mom, and against the advice of her doctors, she gave birth to and raised me."
"However, there are times, in which abortion is may be needed. In which a woman is forced upon, whether their family member was involved or not, abortion should be allowed for that woman. We do not lower abortions by restricting the practice. We lower abortions by ensuring that families can afford to raise a child, we lower abortions by ensuring that these women know the risks of their actions, we lower abortions by ensuring that single mothers like my own receive community support. We cannot simply ban the practice, as this would result in more children of God dying in back alleys the night. If we all come together, to help these mothers, than we would have helped those in their greatest time of need, while respecting the lives of their children."
The media coverage was split. More liberal outlets wondered how this would affect his overall reputation with socially liberal voters, while a few pundits thought he established a well-thought out position on a divisive issue. However, the working class that was pro-Regana, although not exactly moving toward Jesse, respected that he stuck to his guns on abortion, and kept fighting for the working class. All of this, however, would be forgotten after the events of Black Monday...