1988 Republican National Convention

Infobox National Political Convention
year = 1988
party = Republican

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image_size = 250
caption = Ronald and Nancy Reagan at the podium on August 15, 1988.
date = August 15 - August 18
venue = Louisiana Superdome
city = New Orleans, Louisiana
presidential_nominee = George H. W. Bush
presidential_nominee_state = Texas
vice_presidential_nominee = Dan Quayle
vice_presidential_nominee_state = Indiana

The 1988 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States 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 conclave 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. [http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/la/orleans/obits/1/m-07.txt]

The convention nominated Vice President George H. W. Bush for President, as expected. The second spot on the ticket was not publicly known before the convention; Bush chose Fact|date=March 2008 James Danforth "Dan" Quayle, U.S. Senator of Indiana, as his 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.

The convention featured speeches by Joe Paterno, Pat Robertson, and a keynote address by Thomas Kean, then governor of New Jersey.

The convention is perhaps best known for Bush's "thousand points of light" speech accepting the nomination. Written by Peggy Noonan, it included the "" 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 14. Reagan made a major speech on the opening night of the convention, as he would for the last time in 1992.

sequence
prev=1984
Dallas, Texas
list=1988
New Orleans, Louisiana
next=1992
Houston, Texas

See also

*1988 Democratic National Convention

External links

* [http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1988/081588b.htm Reagan's speech at the 1988 Convention]