1988 Miracle Yearbook

Black Poll Power "American life is not like a blanket of unbroken cloth of one color and one texture. American life is like a quilt of many patches, many pieces, many colors bound together by a common thread," said Jesse Jackson in his 1984 quest for the presidency. His 1984 campaign was basically a side-show; howev- er, in 1988, Jackson surrounded himself with white supporters. He nearly upset the 1988 presidential can- didacy of Michael Dukakis when he defeated him in the Michigan primaries almost 2-1. Though he did not receive the nomination, he was the last Democrat to bow to Dukakis, making him the first black to ever come close to the American presidency. His contribu- tion to politics activated black poll power. A resur- gence of civil rights activity was evidenced in many ways,including increased registration of black voters. "ROBERT BORK REJECTED" was on the front of every newspaper in the fall of 1987. After five days of grilling Bork's judicial philosophies and private life, 58senators rejected him as a Supreme Court Justice. POLITICS T he excitement of the upcom- ing presidential election cer- tainly highlighted the year in politics. It started out as a battle among thirteen hopeful candidates; however, when the smoke and scandal had cleared, only two re- mained standing, Massachussetts Democrat Michael Dukakis and Republican Vice-President, George Bush. The most notable casualty came early as reporters met Gary Hart's challenge and also met his weekend visitor Donna Rice. Af- ter withdrawing from the campaign in the midst of scandal, Hart later re-entered in order to "let the people decide" the fate of his candidacy. They decided quickly, and Hart lat- er exited the race after receiving no more than 1% of the vote in subse- quent primaries. President Ronald Reagan sur- vived the last year of his lame duck presidency after a number of major disappointments. The rejection of Robert Bork as Supreme Court Justice, along with two other of Reagan's nominations, was finally resolved with the acceptance of Su- preme Court Judge Kennedy. The never-ending Iran-Contra hearings also proved disastrous for the Chief Executive. However, a command performance by Lt. Col. Oliver North and a successful Soviet- American Summit with Mikhail Gorbachev, which produced the most comprehensive weapons trea- ty in history, may allow the most popular president in history to re- tire quietly to his new home in California. As President Reagan began to leave, the first female British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, pre- pared to stay for another four years after being the first prime minister to be elected to a third consecutive term. Pope John Paul III made his second trip to the United States. During his visit, America witnessed some of the tightest security to be given to any personality. THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE celebrated its 50th birthday. About 250,00 people jammed onto it for an anniversary walk while 500,000 were denied ac- cess because engineers feared that the bridge could not sup- port the weight. On the same evening, San Francisco spon- sored celebratory fireworks.