it happened a few weeks later, and ran through the world series. >> michael dukakis opposed practically every defense system. new aircraft carriers, anti-satellite weapons, he opposed missile systems, dukakis opposed the stealth bomber, ground emergency warning system against attack and questioned the strike on libya - now he wants to be our commander-in-chief. america can't afford that risk. >> the goofy smil with the hat overwhelming his face. it was an image that the americans couldn't resist. 25% of americans said that alone would stop them. >> this is a poll coming in a week later. finally it sinks in about a week later. the hat is fascinating. it's only using 11 seconds of footage that are acquired on the supply by seg rogic. it's looped. >> we didn't show all of it. they do a list of the military programs opposed. bush wiped out dukakis's big lead. do you think bush would have won any? or this was decisive. >> i think bush was headed towards victory. dukakis misplayed the summer after a successful convention in atlanta. he basically goes under ground, back to massachusetts, and b

. >>> up next, this image doomed michael dukakis' campaign. look at that picture.ocky the squirrel. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics. [ male announcer ] eligible for medicare? that's a good thing, but it doesn't cover everything. only about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. so consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans, they pick up some of what medicare doesn't pay and could save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. call today to request a free decision guide to help you better understand what medicare is all about and which aarp medicare supplement plan works best for you. with these types of plans, you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients... plus, there are no networks, and virtually no referrals needed. there's a range of plans to choose from, too, and they all travel with you anywhere in the country. join the millions who have already enrolled in the only medicare supp

massachusetts is so much more than we were tagged dukakis. >> that gets to -- the reason i like michael dukakisomebody is wondering, why does he care about dukakis 25 years later? i think he gets one of the worst raps and unfair raps of any sort of modern major political figure. part of what you're saying about massachusetts is this idea of him being the harvard brookline tech no craft, volvo, wine and cheese, that's the label -- this image that stuck around him. i think it's tremendously unfair. not who he is. if you look at his rise in massachusetts, he appealed to the first generation and second generation pride, families off the boat struggling to make it in the tough towns in the new bedfords and lawrences of massachusetts. and looked at the story of michael dukakis, and looked at his family and what he achieved in life and where his family had come from and took an enormous amount of pride. that's the story of the creation of modern massachusetts. that's the story of the creation of modern america. the other thing i would say about dukakis, the reason he matters to me, not about his ideol

series. >> >> michael dukakis opposed michael dukakis opposed practically every defense practically every defense system. system. new aircraft carriers, new aircraft carriers, anti-satellite anti-satellite weapons, he weapons, he opposed missile systems, dukakis opposed missile systems, dukakis opposed the stealth opposed the stealth bomber, bomber, ground emergency ground emergency warning system warning system against attack and questioned against attack and questioned the strike on libya - now he the strike on libya - now he wants to be our wants to be our commander-in-chief. commander-in-chief. america can't afford that risk. america can't afford that risk. >> the goofy smil with the hat >> the goofy smil with the hat overwhelming his face. overwhelming his face. it was an image that the it was an image that the americans couldn't resist. americans couldn't resist. 25% of americans said that 25% of americans said that alone alone would stop would stop them. them. >> this is a poll coming in a >> this is a poll coming in a week later. week later. finally it sinks in about a week finall

within weeks the bush campaign put out this devastating ad. >> michael dukakis has opposed every defense. he opposed anti-satellite weapons. he opposed four missile systems. dukakis opposed the stealth bomber and the ground emergency warning system against nuclear attack. he even criticized our rescue mission to grenada and strike on libya. mow he wants to be our commander in chief. america can't afford that risk. >> josh king and matt benn have both worked on the campaign. he's currently cofounder of the political think tank third way. both are contributors to politico's new magazine with this article. dukakis and the tank appears. gentlemen, i love your work. start with josh. this piece of news, it's a story that you know has been dangling around in journalism policy since '88. why did this fella with no military background that people thought of because he had a couple years in the army in korea. why did he try to oppose the guy that ended up looking like rocky the squirrel? >> this was about a year in the making. it began a year earlier. dukakis had a speech. his aides knew he was in

you may remember that president bush the elder running against michael dukakis said this at the 1988ublican convention. >> i'm the one who will not raise taxes. my opponent now says -- my opponent says he will raise them as a last resort or a third resort. but when a politician talks like that, you know that's one resort he will be checking into. [cheers] >> and my opponent -- my opponent won't rule out raising taxes but i will and the congress will push me to raise taxes and i will say no, and they will push and i will say. no and they will push again and i will say to them read my lips. no new taxes. [cheers and applause] >> well, that turned out to be false. mr. bush raised taxes in 1990 to the tune of $140 billion. he explained to the nation he had to do it because of the huge budget deficit. by the way that deficit is minuscule compared to what we have now. anyway in 1992, president bush lost the election to bill clinton. in fact, mr. bush was hammered losing the popular vote by 6 million. the read my lips remark certainly hurt him. so president obama should take note that unlik

you may remember that president bush the elder nning against michael dukakis said this at the 1988 republicanvention. >> i'm the one who will not raise taxes. my opponent now says -- my opponent says he will raise them as a last resort or a third resort. but when a politician talks like that, you know that's one resort he will be checking into. [cheers] >> and my opponent -- my opponent won't rule out raising taxes but i will and the congress will push me to raise taxes and i will say no, and they will push and i will say. no and they will push again and i will say to them read my lips. no new taxes. [cheers and applause] >> well, that turned out to be false. mr. bush raised taxes in 1990 to the tune of $140 billion. he explained to the nation he had to do it because of the huge budget deficit. by the way that deficit is minuscule compared to what we have now. anyway in 1992, president bush lost the election to bill clinton. in fact, mr. bush was hammered losing the popular vote by 6 million. the read my lips remark certainly hurt him. so president obama should take note that unlike fast and

john kerry, michael dukakis, all did above 85% beloto black vote well. things will have really changed by then. >> a gubernatorial race is happening tomorrow, i think best represent the two wings of the republican party today. you have chris christie, obviously the more pragmatic conservative in new jersey and cuccinelli, a bit more extreme conservative tea partyier and support among women could not be further apart. you have cuccinelli down by 24 points among women. you have christie, who is leading with women by 23 points. perry, is this the moment when the republican party maybe learned something in terms of their messaging? i know that's what chris christie is hoping for. >> i think it is. i think that we should be clear to say, even most republican candidates are not as bad as ken cuccinelli is. i don't want to read too much into this particular race -- >> does have a special way with the lady folks. >> exactly, a little bit unique. one thing to note, we talked about health care as well. chris christie is one of the few republican governors who embr

michael dukakis is obviously a terrible presidential candidate. john mccain was sarandon is. you know, i had my doubts about that romney to begin. i wouldn't put him in the top 10 affordable presidential candidates. adlai stevenson was a terrible presidential candidate. we've seen a lot of that presidential candidates. especially because all of their in front of us all the time. >> host: how to jimmy carter go from boots and 76 to suits? >> guest: once you go from the charming peanut farmer from georgia to the guy who was wearing sweaters in the oval office and lecturing americans on what they should do with air conditioners, you go to be in the face cry very quickly. he was perceived as an honest show who would come in. he won the 76 election. at a time to hit 1980, it was pretty clear that even if he never lied to the american people, he just wasn't rocket at at his job. ronald reagan provided a market contrast. this is what folks on the rightness. they acted as though reagan was just sunshine all the time. if you watch anything for the 1980 campaign, reagan was far from su

there is a reason they won, and there is a reason they won against michael dukakis and that's becauses under the big tent. you're either fiscally conservative or you're a member of the tea party and you're too idealogically driven. in is this not a kumbaya talk. this is about winning. this is about how nick sabin wins football. >> this is really the thesis of your book and we'll focus on the book in a little bit. let's broaden this out. mark halperin, this is the fight in the two wings of the republican party. >> it's a huge fight and the parties have to sort it out. it has to be done by leaders. it can't be done by cable tv or twitter. chris christie is someone who is magical in the way politicians can be magical. people like having him on tv, he's a good talker. he won. joe said winning is what really matters. he loves to win. he's going to take over the republican governor's association and see if he can win there. and he wants to be a leader to change the party. you can't say that about everybody else people are talking about for '16. >> the man i just lived with, theodore rooseve

michael dukakis the defeated candidate.tion, 3 billion, $2.5 billion or doctor 2 billion the white house released a report showing the shutdown cost how much in employee back pay, alex? >> c, $2 billion. >> doctor 2 billion is correct in back pay, try again with alex and mellissa. it took multiple calls and wrong numbers before vice president joe biden. >> incorrect. it took multiple calls before joe bind replaced a call to newly elected mayor. >> boston. >> according to city officials in boston, this red sox slugger came in third place on write-in votes absolutely no idea. >> encorrect. david ortiz. >> 100 point question the grandson of which former american president announced this week. >> jimmy carter correct, his granddon now running for governor of go. . 100 point question, new jersey governor chris christy made his prime time acting debut. >> nbc michael j. fox i don't know, michael j. fox show? >> it is. 100 points for mellissa. we will finish the question, after being declared the winner tuesday night ken cuccinell

the last time a republican carried new jersey was in 2008 when george bush defeated michael dukakis there>> i think they proved that new jersey has a strong governor with a big personality who at least on the face of it is devoted to this job for the next four years. his numbers are remarkable, and that's why we're talking about him and why everybody's going to be talking about him and taking him seriously as a politician for at least the next three years whether he runs or not. here is a man who won the women's vote in new jersey against a female contender. he won 20% of the african-american vote, even steins on hispanics. he did well with youths. he won a third of all democratic. he's a republican governor, winning a third of all democrats in the state of new jersey. now those are numbers that the gop right now would absolutely die for, and so that's why, i think things have changed a little bit here, because if chris christie is courted by the republican hierarchy and does run in 2016, he's going to be a pragmatic represent, the kind we haven't seen for many, many years, the kind of ma