Hart announced his campaign in 1987. He wanted to reduce America's dependence on oil and defuse the country's escalating military situation in the
Persian Gulf.
The Altantic later wrote that "[in] early 1987, the Hart campaign had an air of likelihood if not inevitability that is difficult to imagine in retrospect. After Mondale's landslide defeat by
Ronald Reagan in 1984, Hart had become the heir apparent and best hope to lead the [Democratic Party] back to the White House." After New York Governor
Mario Cuomo announced that he was not running for president, Hart became the most favored presidential candidate in many national polls, beating the likely successor to Reagan,
George H. W. Bush. However, by spring 1987, Hart was under accusations by reporters of being dishonest.
Gail Sheehy, a
Vanity Fair reporter who covered both of Hart's presidential campaigns, wrote that he frequently lied about even innocuous subjects, such as whether he played
varsity sports in high school. Beginning on May 1, 1987,
Herald reporter Jim McGee staked out Hart's townhouse in Washington D.C., wearing a hooded
parka and sunglasses as a disguise. At the time, Hart's wife Lee was in Denver. McGee caught Hart and Rice entering his house on Friday, May 1. Overnight, McGee had called other reporters, and now had four other people scouting the house. On Saturday, Hart and Rice ran into the group on their way out of the house to go to dinner. Hart noticed McGee, whose disguise looked suspicious. He and Rice then went back into the house. He called Broadhurst to pick her up, and she left the house through the back door. However, photos had already been taken of the incident. The
Herald published the photos on May 3 in a 7,000-word article, "Miami woman is linked to Hart". '' for June 2, 1987, showing the photo of Hart and
Donna Rice|270x270pxAt a televised press conference in
New Hampshire, when a reporter asked Hart if he had ever committed adultery, he responded, "I don't have to answer that." In another press conference, he stated he and Rice were "just pals". He ultimately challenged reporters to prove his infidelity: "Follow me around. I don't care. I'm serious. If anybody wants to put a tail on me, go ahead. They'd be very bored." There is a common misconception that the latter quote came before the stakeout incident, but it was actually after. A picture then surfaced of Rice sitting on Hart's lap, while he was wearing a shirt labeled "Monkey Business Crew". In 1991,
Lee Atwater, the campaign strategist for George H.W. Bush's
1988 presidential campaign, told a reporter as a
deathbed confession that he had set up the
Monkey Business incident. This is unconfirmed, as setting up the incident would be very complicated. In December 1987, Hart officially announced his re-entry. After having poor results in the
1988 New Hampshire primary, he dropped out of the race permanently. Dukakis won the nomination, but lost the general election to George H.W. Bush. == Aftermath ==