Clinton’s Record

IN 1986, Governor Michael Dukakis received a vote of confidence from his fellow chief executives. In a Newsweek poll, they picked him as the most effective governor in the country, in the vanguard in economic development and welfare reform.

But the myth of a “Massachusetts Miracle” did not outlast the fall campaign. When Republicans and conservative journalists pointed to the real conditions in Massachusetts—slackening growth, serious budget troubles, jobs moving across the border to New Hampshire—the Dukakis bandwagon lost its wheels.

About the Author

John Hood

John Hood is president of the John William Pope Foundation, a North Carolina-based grantmaker, and co-founder of Freedom Conservatism.

IN 1986, Governor Michael Dukakis received a vote of confidence from his fellow chief executives. In a Newsweek poll, they picked him as the most effective governor in the country, in the vanguard in economic development and welfare reform.

But the myth of a “Massachusetts Miracle” did not outlast the fall campaign. When Republicans and conservative journalists pointed to the real conditions in Massachusetts—slackening growth, serious budget troubles, jobs moving across the border to New Hampshire—the Dukakis bandwagon lost its wheels.