The 1988 campaign’s emotional highs and lows were sampled at three politcally distinct moments

Evidence

We then piggybacked our emotion-thermometer items onto a commercial poll in the state of Missouri during three periods of the 1988 presidential campaign. The first wave, in June, followed the Missouri primary by three months and represents a period of relative calm in the local environment. The second wave, in July, immediately followed the Democratic National Convention and represents the high point for the Dukakis campaign. Finally, the third wave, in late October, measures emotional response at the end of the national campaign. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 1683