president wasn't his biggest problem. >> i am paying for this microphone. >> despite winning the iowa caucus, bush couldn't sustain what he called the big mo, as in momentum. >> i ronald reagan do solemnly swear -- >> and he lost the nomination to reagan. when reagan couldn't convince gerald ford to join the ticket, he turned to bush, who accepted. despite eight loyal years as vice president, nearly derailed bush's 1988 campaign. by the time he locked up the nomination, bush was 17 points behind the democratic nominee michael dukakis. >> three months ago i remember some of the great publications in this country had written me off. >> reporter: bush and his allies made up the ground by attacking dukakis as too liberal, soft on defense they said and soft on crime. >> a revolving door prison giving furloughs to first-degree murderers not eligible for parole. >> one was willie horton, who