A lesson from Atwater for today's flamethrowers

Lee Atwater was a Republican political consultant best known for guiding the George H.W. Bush 1988 presidential campaign. If you're too young to remember Atwater first hand, Google him. He was an interesting character.

George H.W. Bush was a humble, if not charismatic leader. He downplayed his World War II Naval service when his plane was downed by enemy fire.

Interestingly, Bush, who avoided confrontation, didn't hesitate to surround himself with those who welcomed it - like Lee Atwater.

Bush's 1988 Democratic opponent, Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis, had an early lead on Bush, but attracted criticism for his weekend furlough program for convicts. One convict named William ("Willie") Horton, twice raped a woman and pistol-whipped her husband while released during one such furlough. Atwater approved vicious Horton-related ads painting Dukakis as soft on crime. Dukakis lost the race while Atwater spearheaded a new brand of no-holds-barred campaigning.

Lee Atwater would be a natural fit for today's campaign wars. He might have been an innovator in 1987, but today, he'd just be another flamethrower. Modern-day Atwaters include Steve Bannon, Peter Navarro, Stephen Miller, Jim Jordan, and Alex Jones.

One difference between Atwater and those he may have inspired: contrition. After the brain cancer diagnosis that took his life, Atwater apologized to Michael Dukakis for the "naked cruelty" of the 1988 presidential campaign. For Life magazine, Atwater shared, "I don't know who will lead us through the '90s, but they must be made to speak to this spiritual vacuum at the heart of American society, this tumor of the soul."

Would any of today's "Atwaters" even grasp what he was talking about?

Jim Newton

Itasca