How viable was Jesse Jackson's 1988 campaign?

[jackson_dem]

Since he has come up a lot lately and since there is a lot of talk about Obama being the first viable black candidate it is a good time to look back at Jackson's campaign.

Here is the delegate count from the convention. Others dropped out but Jackson crushed everyone else, including Al Gore and Dick Gephardt, before they quit.

* Michael Dukakis 2687
* Jesse Jackson 1218
* Joseph Biden 2
* Richard Gephardt 2
* Gary Hart 1
* Lloyd Bentsen 1

Jackson won 11 states. While most of his wins were in southern states with large black populations he did win the whitest state in the country (Vermont), another very white state with far different local politics (Alaska), and won a big state outside of the South (Michigan). His wins show he did have national appeal. You don't do the following without national appeal:

"He captured 6.9 million votes and won 11 contests; seven primaries (Alabama, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Puerto Rico and Virginia) and four caucuses (Delaware, Michigan, South Carolina and Vermont).<15>. Jackson also scored March victories in Alaska's caucuses and Texas's local conventions, despite losing the Texas primary.<1> <2> Some news accounts credit him with 13 wins. <3> Briefly, after he won 55% of the vote in the Michigan Democratic caucus, he was considered the frontrunner for the nomination, as he surpassed all the other candidates in total number of pledged delegates." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Jackson#1988_election

He narrowly lost Colorado (a state that does not have a small black population) and then lost his momentum after a big defeat in Wisconsin. Perhaps the outcome would have been different if he held onto Colorado?

Despite all this the consensus among pundits and historians is Jackson never had a chance to ultimately win the nomination. What do you think about that? All the while let's honor one of the greatest progressive of all-time in this thread. :)

[no name no slogan]

1. I worked for Dukakis, and he was considered a threat

The Dukakis campaign took Jackson VERY seriously, and campaigned like hell to beat him, especially after Michigan.

[jackson_dem]

9. Thanks for sharing your unique insight with us

So what is your take on the historical verdict that Obama was not a "viable" national candidate? Is it all Monday morning revisionism based on Jackson's eventual loss?

[no name no slogan]

18. It sounds like a lot of Monday Morning QBing to me

Jesse Jackson was a power in 1988, but I don't think there was ever ANY thought he would get the nomination. JJ never had the backing of the "establishment"-type Dems that Obama does. IMHO, Obama has a much better chance than Jackson ever had for the nom.

Obama's may not have the grassroots popularity and organization that Jackson had, but he doesn't need that, because he has more mainstream support and better fundraising. Not to mention Obama also has more electoral experience than Jackson had in 1988, too.

[jackson_dem]

25. How much of that was because of JJ's race?

[no name no slogan]

29. I think a lot of it was race, but a lot was Jackson's history

Obama has come up through the political ranks in a much more traditional way than Jackson. He has held elected political office. He's a laywer. He taught Con Law. He is very much a part of the Democratic party establishment, regardless of how his supporters or detractors try to portray him.

Jackson, OTOH, came up as a preacher and civil rights activist. He's been arrested for his political activity. The closest he had come to political office before 1988 was as leader of the Illionois Democratic Party delegation at the 1972 convention. Plus, he had all the "baggage" associated with "radical" black identity politics that Obama does not seem to have. For example, I could see Jesse Jackson getting arrested at a sit-in. Obama, probably not so much.

Obama is a much less threatening candidate to white America than Jackson was, IMHO. He's much more "mainstream" and is more of what Americans expect and want from a candidate for the highest elected office in the land.

[H2O Man]

2. Fair questions.

I will say this: Jesse began to pick up the support of factory workers and farmers, and there were meetings of the "powers that be," to decide how to deal with the Jesse "problem." We had an opportunity to broaden the appeal of the democratic party, and the conservative "leaders" closed the door.

[AX10]

3. Jackson had an impressive showing.

There is no question about that.
He also had a very progressive economic policy too.

[Kittycat]

4. Did Jackson have the Endorsements of the Kennedy Family?

Just curious :)

[unc70]

7. No. Jesse hadn't gone to Harvard.

And his father hadn't gone to Harvard after having been in the "Kennedy Airlift" from Kenya.

Jasckson graduated from NC A&T in Greensboro.

[jackson_dem]

10. No. Remember Jackson ran against the governor of Kennedy's state

Kennedy endorsed Dukakis. Here is a list of notable endorsements from wikipedia. Jackson did receive the endorsement of the white Democratic senator of South Carolina, which is especially interesting in light of the perception that Jackson's appeal was limited to blacks.

Notable endorsements

Michael Dukakis

* Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts<3>
* Senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey<4>
* Senator Kent Conrad of North Dakota<5>
* Governor of Vermont Madeline Kunin<6>
* Representative Bob Matsui of California<7>

Jesse Jackson

* Senator Ernest Hollings of South Carolina<8>
* Representative John Lewis of Georgia<9>
* Representative Mickey Leland of Texas<10>
* Frances T. Farenthold<11>
* Texas Agriculture Commissioner Jim Hightower<12>

Al Gore

* Senator Sam Nunn of Georgia<13>
* Senator Terry Sanford of North Carolina<14>
* Senator J. Bennett Johnston of Louisiana<15>
* Senator David Boren of Oklahoma<16>
* Governor of Louisiana Buddy Roemer<17>
* Governor of North Carolina Jim Hunt<18>
* Mayor of New York Ed Koch<19>
* Lieutenant Governor of Alabama Jim Folsom, Jr.<20>
* Former Lieutenant Governor of Alabama Bill Baxley<21>
* Georgia House of Representatives Speaker Tom Murphy<22>
* Alabama House of Representatives Speaker James S. Clark<23>
* Texas State Representative Rick Perry
* Alabama State Senator Ryan DeGraffenried<24>

Dick Gephardt'

* Governor of South Carolina Richard Riley<25>
* State House Speaker Bob F. Griffin of Missouri<26>
* Representative John Dingell of Michigan<27>
* Representative Mike Andrews of Texas<28>
* Representative Albert G. Bustamante of Texas<29>
* Representative Solomon P. Ortiz of Texas<30>
* Representative John Wiley Bryant of Texas<31>

[no name no slogan]

20. Jackson did well in a lot of rural areas, too

including Iowa. His populist message resonated with a lot of farmers, especially after the agricultural crisis of the 1980s (remember FarmAid?). A lot of people seem to think that Jackson's appeal was only to blacks, but he was THE candidate in 1988 for the progressive/populist crowd.

In fact, Paul Wellstone got a lot of his statewide exposure in MN because he was Jackson's 1988 campaign chair. If not for Jackson '88, it's doubtful Paul would have got the endorsement and Senate seat in 1990.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

5. Jesse Jackson was one of the most dynamic public speakers I have ever heard

Now that he's much older, his speech seems to have slowed and he has lost a lot of his fire. When he was young, though, he was the very image of passion and fire. He was greater at public speaking than Barack Obama. He was a better public speaker than John Kerry or Bill Clinton. He could lift an entire audience and bring them to either tears or cheers. He was dynamite.

[unc70]

6. It was a lot closer than the final tally shows

That was after everyone else released their delegates to vote for Dukakis. Jackson scared the Hell out of the establishment. There probably was no way he could have gotten a majority because none of the delegates for the other candidates would have voted for him. After Michigan, the establishment went into overdrive to shut him down.

His convention speech that year should be heard by all.

[shadowknows69]

8. I loved me some Jesse in '88

It was my first time voting and I voted for him in the primes.

[never_get_over_it]

11. I voted for Jesse Jackson in VA primary

I won't be voting for Obama in the FL primary

[unc70]

12. I voted for Jesse in NC primary.

Will not vote for Obama in this NC primary.

[DefenseLawyer]

13. How viable was the Dukakis campaign?

Not very, as it turned out, but Democratic primary voters sure thought he was. Oops.

[BeyondGeography]

14. It was a great campaign; something that only happens in our party

coming after his 1984 run and unforgettable convention speech in San Francisco, a lot of people were ready to support him, including yours truly. His Michigan win was an earthquake, not least since it showed he could get the support of white labor. He spoke to the rage and desperation that people were feeling in the auto industry and the human bond, which we're seeing with Obama, transcended all. Without the Hymietown remark, he would have gone even further, even if his lack of experience in public office was always fatal to his chances. I voted for him in the NY primary, but the anger he inspired with that was real and it undermined him with the media, which was all too happy to play black/Jewish tensions for all they were worth.

C-Span covered some of his rallies in the South and the emotion of those gatherings was unlike anything you'd ever seen before. People lined up with tears in their eyes, saying "God bless you, Jessie" whenever they could shake his hand. His candidacy was a ray of light and progress and it came at a an otherwise depressing time in our political history. That's another way of saying it took a lot of guts and vision on his part.

Winning 11 states is an achievement; Obama is still chasing Jessie. Hope he leaves him in the rear-view mirror but, even if he does, Jessie's place in history is secure.

[jackson_dem]

26. Amazing stuff

Is there video of a Jackson rally anywhere on the net? I have seen him speak on television several times and he always impressed me as being very articulate. He is probably the best spokesman we have four the party. It seems, though, that the Jackson of 1988 was a total legend.

You are right. Jackson also registered millions of voters. Thanks to JJ we wound up winning a lot of congressional, state, and local elections since his runs.

[TomClash]

15. Agreed

He did ok in NH in '88 - against all odds - of course it was a different place and a different time. I worked on his campaign there - he did best among white working class voters in the north country, towns like Berlin.

[Fermezlabush]

16. Interesting

[David__77]

17. He could have won.

He was definitely viable. The powers that be wanted to unite against him for sure.

[ellacott]

28. One of the reasons that the DLC was formed was to counter Jackson's appeal

There were fears that the Democratic party was becoming too progressive and would turn off moderate Democrats.

Jessie Jackson's campaign was also memorable because he increased voter registration. He also helped secure more elections on the whole Democratic ticket, down to the state and local levels.

[GreenPartyVoter]

19. I was a Junior in high school and missed my chance to vote for him. :^(

[Mr_King]

21. Don't read too much into his Michigan win.

A lot of Republicans came out to vote for him just to throw a wrench at Dukakis and make him use more resources to stop Jackson than he originally intended to.

That's one of the reasons Geoffrey Fieger was the Democratic nominee of Governor in 1998. These are two of the reasons I voted for Mitt Romney in the Michigan primary. Hopefully Florida Democrats will follow the lead of Michigan's Democrats.

[tritsofme]

22. Maybe I've lived in Chicago too long, but I don't see Jackson

as some great venerated leader.

His son on the other hand has some great potential.

[Mr_King]

23. I think if Obama does become President or V-P...

that Jesse Jackson, Jr. should be appointed to Obama's senate seat.

[tritsofme]

24. I thought Blago might try to appoint Lisa Madigan

to get rid of another thorn in his side.

[jackson_dem]

27. JJJ would definitely be a good choice

He is a true progressive and his economic bill of rights is visionary.