Chat Details

Former Mass. Gov. Michael S. Dukakis 10-17-08

This chat will begin at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, October 17, 2008.

Read the transcript of the live chat with former Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis, the Democratic presidential nominee in 1988, who joined us on Friday, Oct. 17.

Transcript

2. • Your thoughts on John McCain -- I saw that you and Tommy Thompson got cross-wise with the Senator recently. Can you tell us about that? by Washington DC
   • Answer: Something has happened to the John McCain of eight years ago. I don't know if it is because he is getting older and this is his last shot at the presidency, but I don't think the John McCain of old would have hired a Karl Rove protege to run his campaign, and I certainly don't see the John McCain who stood up and denounced tax cuts for the rich when they were proposed by Bush and a responsible approach to immigration. And his selection of Sarah Palin as a running mate was, I thought, pretty pathetic. I made a lot of mistakes in 1988, but one of the things I did right was to select Lloyd Bentsen as my running mate. The first and most important criterion for that selection was whether or not my running mate was ready to be president if, God forbid, something happened to me. Joe Biden clearly meets that test. Palin does not. by
3. • Governor, can you update us on your family? Are any of your children in or thinking about public life? by Washington DC
   • Answer: Kitty and I have been blessed with three great children and seven grandchildren ranging in age from 19 to fifteen months. All of our children have a strong interest in politics and public affairs. John is now a vice-president of Hill, Holliday, the Boston advertising agency. Andrea is a reporter and producer for Colorado public radio in Denver. Kara is a social worker and children's advocate in San Francisco working with a Stanford program for integrating children's services in the Bay area and also chairs the San Francisco First Five Commission, which is responsible for early childhood education in the city and county of San Francisco. by
4. • You've been studying health care proposals in your work as a professor at UCLA. What needs to happen with health care in this country today? by Washington DC
   • Answer: It is, in my judgment, a national disgrace that we do not guarantee all Americans basic health security, particularly when we have over forty-five million uninsured people in this country, 85% of whom are working people or members of working families. Moreover, health care in the U.S. costs double what it does in the other advanced industrialized nations, and they insure everybody with better health outcomes. I like the Obama plan, although I would go beyond it to make sure that adults as well as childrern were insured, and there is no reason why we can't do that with existing health dollars, given the fact that we are already spending two and a half trillion dollars on health care in this country. Of course, that means we all have to contribute-- employers and employees alike, and while it may make sense to exempt small employers from that requirement, there is no reason why we as taxpayers should be providing Medicaid for the employees and families of a lot of substantial employers in this country. Quite frankly, the McCain health plan is a joke. It won't do what he claims it will do. It will tax your health benefits as income for the first time in history. It doesn't control costs in any meaningful way, and as Senator Obama pointed out repeatedly in the last debate, it does not prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage because of preexisting conditions or charging astronomical premiums if you have a so-called preexisting condition. Unless they are prohibited from doing both, the plan is worthless. by
5. • The 1988 race is usually revisited every four years, and this year is no exception -- especially with the new Lee Atwater documentary out. Can you talk about lessons learned from that campaign? For you, for Democrats, for candidates in general? by Washington DC
   • Answer: I made a lot of mistakes in 1988 -- two big ones, in particular. First, I made a decision that I would not respond to the Bush attack campaign, and no Democrat will ever do that again. Unfortunately, attack campaigns are now part of every campaign, and it is clear that the Obama campaign anticipated the McCain attacks and has done a pretty effective job of dealing with them. In fact, most Americans believe, quite rightly, that the McCain campaign has been a lot more negative than the Obama campaign, and they are right. Second, after doing a terrific grassroots job in the primary, we did not focus on the grassroots in the final, and that, too, was a very big mistake. I don't care how much money you spend in a campaign. There is no substitute for a precinct-based, grassroots organization. It is not complicated-- a precinct captain and six block or neighborhood captains in every precinct making personal contact with voters on their doorsteps on a continuing basis. Fortunately, Obama understands that, too, and he has put together one of the best grassroots operations we have ever seen in nearly two dozen battleground states. In fact, if there is anything that has given him momentum, in addition to his own performance on the campaign trail, it has been his field organization, and I believe it will be decisive on November 4. McCain, by contrast, has virtually no field operation, and it shows. by
6. • Democrats, its generally thought, especially this year, have caught up with the GOP on leveraging technology in campaigns. But you've spoken over the years about the importance of grassroots, old-fashioned retail politics. Can you explain? How would you grade Obama on both fronts? by Washington DC
   • Answer: Technology is important, and Obama has used it well in two respects. First, he has raised unprecedented sums of money over the internet from a base of over three million contributors, many of whom are now working hard as part of his field operation. Secondly, he is using it very effectively in the field. What's important to understand, however, is that the technology is a means to an end-- and that is the kind of effective precinct-based organization I just described. The internet can help you raise money and recruit grassroots workers. It can provide them with literature at no cost other than the paper. It can get them their voting lists, call meetings, keep them updated on what is happening in the campaign, and give them a chance to report in weekly on how they are meeting registration and voter contact goals. And it is free! But real live human beings who live and work in your neighborhood have to do the doorknocking. Technology can't do that for you. by
7. • How much campaigning for Obama are you doing this fall? by Washington DC
   • Answer: Plenty. Of course, I have a full teaching schedule this fall here at Northeastern University, but both Kitty and I are doing everything we can to help elect him. by
8. • States across the country, including Massachusetts, are facing painful budget shortfalls. You've served when times are good and when times are bad. Any advice for state lawmakers and governors? by Washington DC
   • Answer: There is nothing worse for a governor or legislator to have to deal with a budget crisis that was caused by disastrous national economic policies and is no fault of your own. The best policy is to anticipate them and act accordingly-- keep spending under control; put money aside for a rainy day fund; don't cut taxes, tempting though it may be because your have a revenue surge in good times unless you have a well funded rainy day fund; and invest in job creating public infrastructure when times are bad. That kind of work can be bonded legitimately, help to stimulate your state economy, put a lot of people to work; and take advantage of hungry contractors who will bid low in times of economic distress to get the work. by
9. • Gov.: What advice would you give Sen. Obama as he enters the home stretch of the campaign? by Washington, DC
   • Answer: Work hard, stay cool, and do what you did in New Hampshire yesterday. Caution your troops about any overconfidence and urge them to work as hard as they can over the next two and a half weeks. We can't afford four more years of what we have been getting for the last eight. by
11. • How do you see the economic downturn effecting students' ability to finance a college education and how does Northeastern's CO-OP program help students and parents cope with this sad reality? by Washington, DC
    • Answer: The current economic mess undoubtedly is going to hurt our students and their families as they struggle to pay the cost of higher education in this country, and it will put a lot of pressure on state public higher education systems, as well. For-tunately here at Northeastern we have the coop program which gives our students over their five-year undergraduate careers the chance to work for pay in jobs related to their majors in six month segments, alternating with their class work. You can't beat that kind of experience, and I have always been an enthusiastic supporter of it. In fact, I now have hundreds of students who have made public service their career because of the experience they had in coop. by
12. • Governor, you've obviously spent a lot of time with young people at Northeastern and UCLA, with your own children. What do you tell young people who are worried about this country's future right now? by Washington DC
    • Answer: I do everything I can these days to encourage my students and young people generally to think seriously about careers in public service. Kitty and I have had the great good fortune to do that all of our lives, and there is nothing more fulfilling and satisfying than to be in a position where you can make a difference in the lives of your fellow citizens. You won't get rich, but the rewards of public service in the best sense of the word far exceed material riches. And we are producing a wonderful new generation of young people who have a real instinct for public service. by
13. • Governor, we are nearing the end of our chat this morning. Thank you for joining us on WashingtonTimes.com, and please come back again. by David_Eldridge
    • Answer: Thanks, David, to you and the Times. It has been a real pleasure. by