The Michael Dukakis Interview
By:
Michael D. McClellan | Friday, April 1st 2005
By the end of the Russell
Dynasty it had become
 clear that Dukakis' own political
ambitions had outgrown the state legislature. He ran
for lieutenant governor but lost his first bid for
statewide office when the Democratic ticket was defeated
in 1970. The Celtics, interestingly enough, were also
suffering defeat during the 1969-70 season. A 38-44
record signaled that life after Russell would be
anything but easy, as teams such as the Knicks, Bucks
and Lakers scrambled to fill the power vacuum. For his
part, Auerbach busily went about the work of rebuilding
the Celtics, naming Heinsohn head coach and drafting
players such as Jo Jo White and Dave Cowens to lead the
team into the new decade. Almost simultaneously,
Dukakis began to rebuild his political career: He
reentered private law practice with a big-name Boston
firm and also hosted a public television talk show
called "The Advocates", which gave him valuable
on-camera experience. Within four years, Dukakis was
back, running for governor against the incumbent,
Republican Francis Sargent.
1974 was a very good year for
both Dukakis and the Boston Celtics. John Havlicek led
the team in scoring for the sixth consecutive season
(22.6 PPG), while recording his 20,000th career
regular-season point against the Los Angeles Lakers in
the Boston Garden. In the playoffs, Jo Jo White hit two
dramatic free throws with no time left on clock,
eliminating the pesky Buffalo Braves during Eastern
Conference semifinals. And in the NBA Finals, the
Celtics recovered from Kareem Adbul-Jabbar's
spectacular, game-winning sky-hook in Boston Garden to
dominate the winner-take-all Game 7 in Milwaukee
(102-87). The victory propelled Boston to its 12th NBA
championship, and its first without Bill Russell.
Dukakis also returned to the big stage in grand fashion,
winning his battle with Sargent and claiming the biggest
prize in Massachusetts politics. In winning the
governor's seat, Dukakis immediately went to work on
reforming state government. For the most part, his
first two years in office went according to plan. By
1976, however, it was clear that Dukakis' first-term
swagger had peaked; his honeymoon with the
independent-minded legislature long over, the brainy
governor suddenly found himself portrayed as standoffish
and arrogant. The Cowens-led Celtics were also at a
high-water mark, winning another title following the
1975-76 season before slipping into disarray.
By the 1978 Democratic
gubernatorial primary, voters were extremely frustrated
with Dukakis – and more than eager to voice their
displeasure at the ballot box. In his place, they
elected conservative Edward King, who went on to win the
general election. The loss, as Dukakis frequently
described it, was "the most painful thing that ever
happened to me in my life." The Celtics were in
crisis-mode as well; free agency, an ugly ownership
change, a revolving door of selfish players…all of these
things poisoned the team and sent it on a downward
spiral until Auerbach came to the rescue, drafting Larry
Bird and pulling off the trade brought Kevin McHale and
Robert Parish to Boston.
As the Celtics began to rebound,
winning the NBA championship in 1981, Dukakis began
setting the stage for a comeback of his own. He learned
from his mistakes. He understood that he didn't
maintain the ties to the people and to the groups that
got him elected to his first term. Explained Dukakis:
"I learned how to listen, how to think a little bit
longer before I do things. I learned to do better at
building coalitions. I understood a lot better than I
did that you've got to involve people from the beginning
in what you're doing – legislators, constituency leaders
– and if you involve them, you get not only greater
commitment but a better product."
Dukakis won his rematch with
King in 1982, and followed that with a third term in
1986. It seemed as if the older, wiser Dukakis could do
no wrong: Newsweek ranked him as the nation's most
effective governor, and there were whispers that he
might make a run at the White House. The Celtics were
also on a roll; the team won the 1984 NBA championship –
its fifteenth overall – behind the stellar play of Bird,
and won it all again two years later.
Dukakis' failed bid for
president is well known, but it
 is worth mentioning that
Bob Woolf, Larry Bird's longtime friend and agent,
traveled with Dukakis on the campaign trail. Dukakis
also appeared on two episodes of Cheers, one of several
ties that he shares with McHale. Linked together they
remain, this career politician and this legendary sports
franchise, their paths crisscrossing through the years,
even as the Celtics search for that elusive 17th
championship banner and Dukakis teaches political
science at Northeastern – which is the late Reggie
Lewis' alma mater, of course. Strange bedfellows,
perhaps, but few have met with more success.
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