Topic: 1988

A media montage reviews Joe Biden's long political history, including his failed 1988 presidential bid and his 2008 primary performance. The hosts recall how Biden's "bumbling" interview style forced the Obama administration's hand on same-sex marriage policy in 2012. They debate whether Biden's public persona is genuine or a calculated political tactic.

Archival clips from Al Gore’s 1988 presidential campaign show him warning about the ozone layer and the destruction of rainforests. Gore claimed that by the year 2010, the world's rainforests would be entirely gone, a prediction the hosts note did not come to pass.

A personal anecdote compares travel experiences in Moscow during the late 1980s. The story details warnings about KGB-affiliated sex workers at the Intercontinental Hotel and the general atmosphere in Russia prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall.

John Dvorak compares 1988 Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis to the Seinfeld character George Costanza, noting similarities in their smirks and mannerisms. They play a clip of Dukakis's convention speech where he suggests neighbors should teach each other to read, which the hosts find absurd.

A 1988 interview between Oprah Winfrey and Donald Trump is analyzed, highlighting Trump's long-term consistency on issues of foreign trade and military spending. In the archival footage, Trump criticizes Japan for "dumping" products in U.S. markets and argues that wealthy allies like Kuwait should pay for American military protection. The segment notes that Trump's rhetoric regarding the U.S. being "ripped off" has remained virtually unchanged for nearly three decades.

In 1988, the League of Women Voters withdrew its sponsorship of presidential debates, accusing the Democratic and Republican campaigns of "hoodwinking the American public." The League refused to be an accessory to a "charade" where the two major parties dictated every detail of the format, including moderator comments and audience composition. This led to the dominance of the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), which critics argue excludes third-party candidates like Gary Johnson.

The cancellation of long-running soap operas like General Hospital marks the end of an era in television, with scripted dramas being replaced by cheaper reality programming. One host recalls a 1988 guest appearance on the soap opera Another World. The segment laments the loss of traditional television dialogue and storytelling formats.

A review of the 1988 film "Scrooged" starring Bill Murray highlights a scene where a television executive uses terrifying promos to scare audiences into watching a Christmas special. The imagery of exploding airplanes and drug use in the fictional 1988 promo is compared to the modern news cycles of CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC. The segment notes how satirical fear-mongering from the 1980s has become a reality in contemporary media.

Rush Limbaugh recently revisited Joe Biden's failed 1988 presidential campaign, highlighting instances where Biden allegedly falsified his academic resume and credentials. Limbaugh played old campaign advertisements to contrast Biden's past claims about presidential experience with his current role on the Obama ticket. Biden's history of making up degrees led to his public discredit during that election cycle.