Dukakis recalls �crazy� days on campaign trail
By Karen Sanborn
"I�m a somewhat obsessively transit-oriented guy," Dukakis said. "I wish the
Amtrak ran faster and more frequently."
Dukakis, who won the Democratic nomination for the presidency in 1988, gave
the class a personal account of his campaign more than a decade ago.
"If I knew anything about presidential politics, I�d be here in a different
capacity," Dukakis joked.
His talk capped a semester of speakers who have addressed the class on
political issues surrounding the New Hampshire Primary.
"It�s a been a unique experience to the students," said assistant professor
Mark Wrighton. "We�ve done very little lecturing. We�ve put our efforts into
bringing to class firsthand experiences with the primary."
Dukakis said he never considered running for the presidency while serving as
governor of Massachusetts. Not until the Iran-Contra scandal, which sent him off
and running.
He said he asked himself if he were elected president, could he do the job?
"Anyone who doesn�t ask themselves that question is a fool," Dukakis said.
"Either that or you have to have a supreme ego or something."
Dukakis discussed the grassroots network he believes was an integral part of
his winning the nomination.
He had more than 70,000 contributors who knocked on doors and helped drum up
support. Dukakis said those people "put a face on my campaign."
Now, he said, there�s not enough time for the people to get to know
candidates. He asked the class to take responsibility and become involved.
"I hope every single one of you do your damnedest to be deeply involved in
this business at the local, state and national level or all three," Dukakis
said. "Don�t let anyone tell you can�t do it. I don�t know if there�s anything
more important than helping fellow citizens."
The former governor was not shy about sharing why he thinks he lost the
election. He said he had not developed a strategy to deal with attacks from the
Bush campaign.
"I ran into a bit of a buzz saw," Dukakis said.
He said he dropped eight points in one week after Bush allegedly had
President Reagan refer to Dukakis as an "invalid." Dukakis said he hopes the
current Democratic candidates are ready for similar encounters.
"Whoever the Democratic nominee will, in my judgment, be subjected to a
brutal attack campaign by Bush," Dukakis said. "This is the worst national
administration I�ve ever lived under, bar none. I want this guy out of there."
Dukakis discussed the ins and outs of being in the national spotlight.
"It gets a little crazy," Dukakis said. "(The Democratic hopefuls) have
already said every speech they�re ever going to say. They have to come up with
interesting ways to say the same stuff. And then, how about a year from now?"
Dukakis said the tight security made him feel as though he were "in a box he
couldn�t get out of." As governor, he was able to drive his car to work and shop
down the street.
"Once you sign up with the Secret Service, you�re suddenly surrounded,"
Dukakis said. "I�d bring (the Secret Service) in the grocery store aisles. I�m
looking for the specials and they don�t know what�s going on."
Dukakis shook hands with many students before heading back to Massachusetts,
where he teaches at Northeastern University.
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DURHAM - Always an advocate for public
transportation, Michael Dukakis rode a bus to the state for his address to a
political science class at the University of New Hampshire.
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