Expectations Lowered in Move to Help Candidate Excel on TV

If the point of a modern political convention is to put on an effective television program, then Thursday night Michael S. Dukakis got the show he wanted.

Dukakis’ aides saw the television coverage of his speech and its surroundings as among the most important moments of the entire campaign, and they went to great pains to achieve exactly the correct effect.

Colorless Image

For two days, for example, they have been trying to lower expectations for Dukakis’ speech. By doing that, they hoped to capitalize on his image of being colorless by setting a standard that Dukakis--who, in fact, frequently has given relatively good speeches--easily could exceed.

Their plan appeared to work well. “Exceeding expectations,” said Dan Rather on CBS. “They were listening to Dukakis . . . their hearts are in this one now,” said CBS’ Walter Cronkite. “Better than he was expected to do,” said Sam Donaldson on ABC.

There were a few noticeable differences among the three major networks in their coverage of the show.

Both ABC and NBC showed Dukakis’ father-in-law, Harry Ellis Dickson, the former assistant conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra, conducting the “Fanfare for Michael Dukakis,” which was written by composer John Williams. And they showed the full length of the video that Dukakis’ cousin, Academy Award-winning actress Olympia Dukakis, narrated about him.

CBS showed part of the fanfare but not the video. Earlier in the day, however, the CBS Evening News ended its program with a strongly upbeat segment on the Democratic convention. Over a sound track of “America the Beautiful,” the piece showed brief glimpses of Democratic officials calling for jobs, education, better housing and party unity; Dukakis kissing his wife, Kitty; and red, white and blue fireworks exploding over the Atlanta skyline.

Leads News Shows

NBC and ABC each led their nightly news programs with shots of Dukakis, looking relaxed, while checking out the podium Thursday morning, whistling, singing a few notes, then reciting a few lines of his speech. They both aired his self-deprecating joke from a luncheon speech that Kitty had “fallen asleep” while reading the text of the speech.

During the speech itself, the television cameras showed the Rev. Jesse Jackson and other dignitaries on the podium applauding Dukakis when he said that he would fire public officials who violate the public trust and would refuse to give pardons to those who “sell arms to the ayatollah.”

The cameras showed black delegates cheering fervently when he pledged to “end apartheid in South Africa” and Texas delegates waving a huge banner proclaiming “Viva Dukakis-Bentsen” when he spoke to the convention in Spanish.

As he spoke, towards the end of his speech, about children and his hope for “wonderful new beginnings,” the NBC and CBS cameras panned the hall, finding several babies to picture.

Rivals Together on Podium

When the speech was over, Dukakis, Jackson and vice presidential nominee Lloyd Bentsen stood together at the front of the podium with their wives.

From the convention hall, with its large number of Jackson delegates, the image was of Jackson and Dukakis together. But, on television, with its narrower field of view, the image was far different. Dukakis stood next to his wife, she next to Jacqueline Jackson, and she, in turn, next to her husband.

At no point were the two former rivals photographed standing directly next to each other in the sort of tableau that Dukakis’ Republican opponents have been hoping to exploit.