Nine Key Moments : 1988 Campaign

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But the process soon spun out of control. Because Bush had kept everything to himself, no one had thought of how to present Quayle to the press. Expecting the choice to be Dole, Bush's senior staff enlisted the veteran Reagan adviser Stu Spencer to keep Dole under control. But Spencer proved too domineering for Quayle. He called him Danny and treated him like a college freshman. At Quayle's first press conference, the Bush staff was relieved at his ability to handle the issue of Paula Parkinson, the onetime Playboy model who very briefly shared a Florida vacation house with Quayle and two colleagues, but they were not prepared for the brouhaha over Quayle's decision to join the National Guard. Nor did anyone coach Quayle through the television interviews that night; he came across as woefully inadequate.

Later that night Bush's senior staff gathered in the lounge outside Baker's office on the 38th floor of the Marriott. Baker, his tie still crisply tied, led the proceedings from a chair in the center of the smoky room. Aides were sent scurrying for information. The mood was somewhere between a wake and an all-night cramming session. Nothing much was accomplished, but no one wanted to leave. Dumping Quayle was only fleetingly considered. "We all knew that would be suicide, the end," said a Bush aide.

7 His campaign stalled, Dukakis calls back an exiled adviser

During his eleven months in quiet exile, Sasso had only sporadic contacts with the man who banished him for leaking a video exposing Senator Joe Biden's use of lines from a British politician. He and Dukakis talked, but rarely about politics. Even when Sasso attended the Atlanta convention, staying at the same hotel as Dukakis, the two men never saw each other. That did not keep reporters from repeatedly asking if Sasso was coming back.

Shortly after Super Tuesday, the Governor called Sasso and requested his thoughts on the campaign. Sasso was primed: In-depth polling was required to determine the campaign's theme. TV ads should begin in August. The campaign staff needed strengthening.

Dukakis was impressed. He asked Sasso to put all this in a memo and report back in a few weeks. A week later, Dukakis changed his mind. Newspaper stories speculated that Sasso was about to be recalled. Spooked by all the media attention, Dukakis got word to Sasso to forget about it.

But in August, as Bush found his voice, Dukakis appeared lost.. His negatives had climbed above 40%. He needed a coherent structure, and none was in place. Dukakis had no choice but to turn to Sasso. It was embarrassing for the self-righteous Dukakis; he was publicly going back on his word.

Brountas called Sasso at Martha's Vineyard, where he had just begun a holiday with his wife. Could Sasso come to Boston immediately? Around Dukakis' kitchen table in Brookline, Dukakis asked Sasso to return and "run" the campaign. He "could kick himself," Dukakis said, that he hadn't done this earlier.

Sasso found the campaign in disarray, the advertising a shambles. He quickly signed up surrogates like Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton and New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley to stump for Dukakis. Soon Dukakis began to fire back with his populist message of fighting for the middle class. But it was too little, too late.

8 Unwell but not unprepared, the Duke loses the second debate