Gary Wills in “Under God” offers a explanation for Dukakis’ defeat that doesn’t rely on the notion of being too nice, innocent, or honest. Wills argues that Dukakis was our first secular presidential candidate and lost because he couldn’t connect with average voters. Dukakis belonged to the Greek Orthodox Church but largely avoiding explaining what that meant and how it effected him or his policies, he was private about his faith. Bush benefited from being able to define himself using the shorthand, “I’m a Christian, like you.” Dukakis couldn’t make this argument. Then when Willie Norton was turned into a household name and Dukakis gave a weak answer to the death penalty question in the debate, people got the idea that they didn’t know what the guy stood for. I agree that Obama is cerebral and can sometime come off as aloof as Dukakis, but he also has had a religious life that is very common in America. By this time, people should be familar with Obama and his goals, if not, they would have never voted for him anyway.