1988 Republican National Convention
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2011) |
| 1988 presidential election | |
  Nominees Bush and Quayle | |
| Convention | |
|---|---|
| Date(s) | August 15–18, 1988 |
| City | New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Venue | Louisiana Superdome |
| Keynote speaker | Thomas Kean |
| Candidates | |
| Presidential nominee | George Bush of Texas |
| Vice-presidential nominee | Dan Quayle of Indiana |
The 1988 Republican National Convention was held in the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, from August 15 to August 18, 1988. It was the second time that a major party held its convention in one of the five states known as the Deep South, coming on the heels of the 1988 Democratic National Convention, which was held in Atlanta, Georgia. Much of the impetus for holding the convention in the Superdome came from the Louisiana Republican National Committeewoman Virginia Martinez of New Orleans, who lobbied on behalf of her adopted home city as the convention site as a member of the RNC Executive Committee.[1]
The convention nominated Vice President George Bush for president, as expected. The second spot on the ticket was not publicly known before the convention; James Danforth "Dan" Quayle, U.S. Senator of Indiana, was selected as Bush's vice presidential running mate. The revelation of Quayle's selection as running mate did not come until the second day of the convention, when NBC News broke the story. As of 2020, it was the last time a major party's presidential candidate announced his vice presidential choice during his party's convention.
The convention featured speeches by Joe Paterno, Pat Robertson, a keynote address by New Jersey Governor Thomas Kean, and the music of the Jimmy Maxwell Orchestra. Actress Helen Hayes attended the conference at age 88.
Speakers
The convention is perhaps best known for Bush's "thousand points of light" speech[2] accepting the nomination. Written by Peggy Noonan and Craig R. Smith, it included the "read my lips: no new taxes" pledge that was the most popular sound bite coming out of the convention. The successful speech gave him a "bounce" that he was able to capitalize on to win the 1988 presidential election.
President Ronald and Nancy Reagan were honored on August 15. Reagan made a major speech[3] on the opening night of the convention, as he would for the last time in 1992.
Other speakers included Bob Dole, Elizabeth Dole, Arizona junior senator John McCain, Jeane Kirkpatrick and former President Gerald Ford.
-
President Reagan's Remarks at the Republican National Convention on August 14, 1988
-
President Reagan's Address to the Republican National Convention, August 15, 1988
-
Nancy Reagan's Address to the Republican National Convention on August 15, 1988
-
Celebration after President Reagan's Speech at Republican National Convention on August 15, 1988
Voting
The Balloting:
| Candidates | 
|
|---|---|
| Name | George H. W. Bush |
| Certified Votes | 2,044 (100%) |
| total: | 2,044 |
With rumblings of opposition to the Quayle nomination, it was decided to have it ratified by voice vote, something that the Republicans had never done before, but would become standard practice in the decades to come.
| Preceded by 1984 Dallas, Texas |
1988 New Orleans, Louisiana |
Succeeded by 1992 Houston, Texas |
See also
- 1988 Republican Party presidential primaries
- George H. W. Bush 1988 presidential campaign
- History of the United States Republican Party
- List of Republican National Conventions
- U.S. presidential nomination convention
- 1987 Libertarian National Convention
- 1988 Democratic National Convention
- 1988 United States presidential election
References
- ^ "RootsWeb.com Home Page". ftp.rootsweb.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
- ^ Address Accepting the Presidential Nomination at the Republican National Convention in New Orleans Archived 2015-07-22 at the Wayback Machine; August 18, 1988; by George H. W. Bush
- ^ Reagan's speech at the 1988 Convention
External links
- George Bush's nomination acceptance speech for President at RNC (video) at C-SPAN
- George Bush's nomination acceptance speech for President at RNC[permanent dead link] (audio)
- Video of Quayle nomination acceptance speech for Vice President at RNC (via YouTube)
- George Bush's nomination acceptance speech for President at RNC (text) at The American Presidency Project
- Republican Party platform of 1988 at The American Presidency Project
- Video (with audio) of Thomas Kean's Keynote Address at Republican National Convention
- Text of Thomas Kean's Keynote Address at Republican National Convention
