WASHINGTON, Nov. 9, 1988 (UPI) -- In the drab dawn of defeat, the Democrats once again must search for their future. They failed to find tomorrow with Michael Dukakis in 1988.
For the Republicans, the answer for the 1992 election is easy. President Bush, barring some completely unforeseen circumstance such as poor health, will run for re- election.
And, unless the nation spirals into a depression, the once-alleged wimp will be a far more formidable nominee running from the White House as an incumbent.
For the Democrats, however, finding the man or woman, the region, the politics, the ability to campaign is a puzzle that will test the finest minds the party can muster.
Despite the chants of '''92, '92'' that sounded through the hall when Dukakis conceded defeat, his Election Day thrashing put the three-term Massachusetts governor on the shelf. He has earned a spot up there with George McGovern, Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale in the Hall of Fame of Democratic losers.
The Democrats tried the ''it's lovelier the second time around'' with Adlai Stevenson in 1956. It doesn't work.
Who then in 1992?
For starters, Jesse Jackson is certain to make another, a third run, for the Democratic presidential nomination and chances are that any other plans by any other candidates will not affect his personal ambition.
But if Bush managed to paint Dukakis as a liberal to such a degree that the nominee would not even admit it until the final two weeks of the campaign, what would he do with Jackson? By comparison to Jackson, Dukakis certainly is a moderate or a centrist if not a conservative.
Several of those who tried for the nomination in 1988, and failed, may well go to the starting gate again in four years.
Perhaps the most promising is Sen. Albert Gore of Tennessee, who will be only 45, has Southern roots, a finely balanced mix of liberalism and moderation and is a telegenic campaigner.
But Gore did not cut it with Northern liberals, who still dominate the Iowa and New Hampshire opening rounds, and he ended up winning only a handful of border states. In the Dixie-dominated Super Tuesday primaries, Dukakis took Florida and Texas and Jackson swept the Deep South states.
The other possibility from the ranks of the 1988 fallen is Rep. Richard Gephardt of Missouri. Unfortunately, his track record never went past Iowa.
No, for the Democrats to win in 1992, it appears they will have to search for someone new. Three names stand out: New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley and Georgia Sen. Sam Nunn.
Cuomo and Bradley, however, are Easterners and there is no sign conservative Southern Democrats can accept one of those, certainly not if he is as liberal as Cuomo and probably not even if he is as moderate as Bradley.
Nunn, on the other hand, has some civil rights and social issue votes that might make him unacceptable in the North.
Newly elected Virginia Sen. Charles Robb might have fit the bill, but he has been hurt by allegations that he likes certain Virginia Beach parties at which he perhaps should not have been seen. Another party man, former Colorado Sen. Gary Hart, seems past resurrection.
The perfect candidate for the Democrats would probably be a Westerner who is moderate politically, who knows how to and likes campaigning, and who has some background in Washington and world affairs.
At the moment, Lloyd Bentsen comes the closest to filling those requirements and certainly impressed voters more than Bush, Dukakis and Dan Quayle. But at 67, it is unlikely he will try to capitalize on his newfound position in the party.
