"How many of you thought I won?" a jaunty Michael Dukakis asked his audience in Peoria, Ill. Loud cheers made it unanimous; the Democrat had bested George Bush in their debate two days earlier. Even the Vice President's aides privately agreed. A few of them came close to panic during the debate, fearful that Bush's skittish performance would create a reaction that "could roll out of control," as one adviser put it. Their sudden anxiety turned out to be as baseless as Dukakis' new brio. By week's end a TIME poll flashed a different verdict: the public credits Dukakis as a...
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