Sasso was born in New Jersey. Initially a teacher, he began his political career as an organizer for Congressman Gerry Studds, and gained note as an organizer for Ted Kennedy in the 1980 Iowa primaries. Having worked on Michael Dukakis's 1982 campaign for Massachusetts Governor, Sasso served as his Chief of Staff from 1983 to 1987; Dukakis then appointed him as campaign manager for his presidential bid, after Sasso persuaded the governor that he could win nationally. Sasso was primarily responsible for creating the strategy and organization that allowed Dukakis to win the Democratic nomination in a crowded field.
Before the first primaries, however, Sasso was identified as the person responsible for the distribution of a videotape showing similarities between a speech by Sen. Joseph Biden, a Dukakis rival for the nomination, and British politician Neil Kinnock, leading to Sasso's forced resignation from the Dukakis campaign.
With Dukakis trailing George H. W. Bush by double digits in the polls, however, Dukakis recalled Sasso to the campaign just before Labor Day. Ultimately, resistance to Sasso's resuming management of the campaign from the still official "campaign manager", Susan Estrich, a Harvard Law School Professor, hampered Sasso's efforts to turn the campaign's fortunes around. Still, the gap was closed to around 53–47 by voting day.
Following the campaign, Sasso became a consultant with an array of major national clients, while continuing to be called upon as a top strategist within the Democratic Party. He was reputed to be ready to head up New York Governor Mario Cuomo's presidential campaign had Cuomo run in 1992, but Cuomo declined to enter the race.
In 2004 John Kerry brought Sasso in as "the man on the plane" during his own ill-fated presidential campaign, and Sasso emerged from the campaign as one of the few campaign operatives whose reputations were burnished by his role on the campaign. Just prior to that involvement, also at Kerry's request, Sasso had taken on a major role for the Democratic National Committee.
Referencesedit
^Stengel, Richard (3 October 1988). "The Natural: A Feel for Politics". Time.
External linksedit
Road to the White House paved with dirty tricks
Joseph Biden's Plagiarism; Michael Dukakis's 'Attack Video' - 1988
Kerry picks senior campaign aide
Researcher Alleges Potential Plagiarism in 11 Passages of Kerry's Writings
November 28, 2023
john, sasso, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, includes, list, general, references, lacks, sufficient, corresponding, inline, citations, pl. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations February 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia s notability guideline for biographies Please help to demonstrate the notability of the topic by citing reliable secondary sources that are independent of the topic and provide significant coverage of it beyond a mere trivial mention If notability cannot be shown the article is likely to be merged redirected or deleted Find sources John Sasso news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message John Sasso born 1946 1947 1 is an American Democratic political operative who ran the 1988 election bid by Michael Dukakis John SassoPersonal detailsBorn1946 or 1947 age 76 77 New Jersey U S Political partyDemocraticEducationBoston University BA Contents 1 Life and career 1 1 2004 Campaign season 2 References 3 External linksLife and career editThis section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living people that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately Find sources John Sasso news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2019 Learn how and when to remove this template message Sasso was born in New Jersey Initially a teacher he began his political career as an organizer for Congressman Gerry Studds and gained note as an organizer for Ted Kennedy in the 1980 Iowa primaries Having worked on Michael Dukakis s 1982 campaign for Massachusetts Governor Sasso served as his Chief of Staff from 1983 to 1987 Dukakis then appointed him as campaign manager for his presidential bid after Sasso persuaded the governor that he could win nationally Sasso was primarily responsible for creating the strategy and organization that allowed Dukakis to win the Democratic nomination in a crowded field Before the first primaries however Sasso was identified as the person responsible for the distribution of a videotape showing similarities between a speech by Sen Joseph Biden a Dukakis rival for the nomination and British politician Neil Kinnock leading to Sasso s forced resignation from the Dukakis campaign With Dukakis trailing George H W Bush by double digits in the polls however Dukakis recalled Sasso to the campaign just before Labor Day Ultimately resistance to Sasso s resuming management of the campaign from the still official campaign manager Susan Estrich a Harvard Law School Professor hampered Sasso s efforts to turn the campaign s fortunes around Still the gap was closed to around 53 47 by voting day Following the campaign Sasso became a consultant with an array of major national clients while continuing to be called upon as a top strategist within the Democratic Party He was reputed to be ready to head up New York Governor Mario Cuomo s presidential campaign had Cuomo run in 1992 but Cuomo declined to enter the race 2004 Campaign season edit This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living people that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately Find sources John Sasso news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message In 2004 John Kerry brought Sasso in as the man on the plane during his own ill fated presidential campaign and Sasso emerged from the campaign as one of the few campaign operatives whose reputations were burnished by his role on the campaign Just prior to that involvement also at Kerry s request Sasso had taken on a major role for the Democratic National Committee References edit Stengel Richard 3 October 1988 The Natural A Feel for Politics Time External links editRoad to the White House paved with dirty tricks Joseph Biden s Plagiarism Michael Dukakis s Attack Video 1988 Kerry picks senior campaign aide Researcher Alleges Potential Plagiarism in 11 Passages of Kerry s Writings Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Sasso amp oldid 1185583597, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
