John Dickerson remembers the presidential campaign of 1988, when George Bush’s handlers worked from a playbook known as “The Hazards of Duke” to spin Michael Dukakis as soft on crime, weak on defense, and generally out of touch.

Please let us know what you think of Whistlestop. Our email is: [email protected]. You can subscribe to our podcast here. All past episodes of our show can be found here. 

Whistlestop is sponsored by The Great Courses, now offering the lecture series "The Modern Political Tradition: Hobbes to Habermas." Order from eight of their best-selling courses at up to 80% of the original price by visiting thegreatcourses.com/whistlestop.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices