Gary Hart presidential campaign 1988

Hart declined to run for a third term in the Senate, leaving office in early 1987 with the intent of running for president again. In January 1987, he was the clear frontrunner for the Democratic nomination in the U.S. 1988 presidential election. [Dionne, E.J. jr., "Poll Gives Hart and Bush Clear Leads for Nominations", New York Times, January 25, 1987, pg. 18] It seemed that only Democratic party efforts to recruit New York Governor Mario Cuomo could thwart his nomination. Hart had put in a strong showing in the 1984 presidential election, and had refined his campaign in the intervening years.

Hart officially declared his candidacy on April 13, 1987. [Toner, Robin, "Hart, Stressing Ideals, Formally Enters the 1988 Race; 'It's an issue of recapturing our basic principles, beliefs and values.' "New York Times", April 14, 1987. pg. A16] Rumors began circulating nearly immediately that Hart was having an extramarital affair. In an interview that appeared in the "New York Times" on May 3, 1987, Hart responded to the rumors by daring the press corps: "Follow me around. I don't care. I'm serious. If anybody wants to put a tail on me, go ahead. They'll be very bored." [Dionne, E.J. Jr. "The Elusive Front-Runner; GARY HART" "New York Times", May 3, 1987, pg. SM28] The "Miami Herald" had been investigating Hart's rumored womanizing for weeks before the "dare" appeared in the New York Times. Two reporters from the "Miami Herald" had staked out his residence and observed an attractive young woman coming out of Hart's Washington, D.C., townhouse on the evening of May 2. The "Herald" published the story on Sunday, May 3, the same day Hart's dare appeared in print, and the scandal spread rapidly through the national media. Hart and his allies attacked the "Herald" for rushing the story into print, claiming that it had unfairly judged the situation without finding out the true facts. Hart claimed that the reporters had not watched both entrances to his home and could not have seen when the young woman entered and left the building. The "Miami Herald" reporter had flown to Washington, D.C. on the same flight as the woman, identified as Donna Rice. Hart was dogged with questions regarding his views on marital infidelity. In public, his wife, Lee, supported him, claiming the relationship with the young woman was innocent. [Dionne, E.J. Jr. "Paper and Hart in Dispute Over Article", "New York Times", May 4, 1987, pg. A16] A poll of voters in New Hampshire for the New Hampshire Primary showed that Hart's support had dropped in half, from 32% to 17%, placing him suddenly ten points behind Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis.

On May 5, the "Herald" received a further tip that Hart had spent a night in Bimini on a yacht called the Monkey Business with a woman who was not his wife. The "Herald" obtained photographs of Hart aboard the "Monkey Business" with then-29-year-old model Donna Rice, sitting on Hart's lap. The photographs were subsequently published in the "National Enquirer". On May 8, 1987, a week after the Donna Rice story broke, Hart dropped out of the race. At a press conference, he lashed out at the media, saying "I said that I bend, but I don't break, and believe me, I'm not broken." A Gallup Poll found that nearly two-thirds (64%) of the U.S. respondents it surveyed thought the media treatment of Hart was "unfair." A little over half (53%) responded that marital infidelity had little to do with a president's ability to govern.

Not everyone was impressed with Hart's diatribe against the press. Television writer Paul Slansky noted that Hart had tried to deflect blame from himself for his downfall to the media, and that he offered no apology to betrayed supporters who now suddenly had to find other candidates to back. To many observers, the press conference was redolent of Richard Nixon's "Last Press Conference" of November 7, 1962, in which Nixon blamed the media for his loss in the 1962 California gubernatorial election. Hart, in fact, received a letter from Nixon himself commending him for "handling a very difficult situation uncommonly well" [ cite news|publisher=The New York Times|title=Nixon, Dixon and Hart|date=1987-07-16
url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DEFD91331F935A25754C0A961948260
accessdate=2008-01-26] .

In December 1987, Hart returned to the race, declaring "Let's let the people decide!" He competed in the New Hampshire primary and received 4,888 votes, approximately 4%. After the Super Tuesday contests on March 8, he withdrew from the campaign a second time.

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