American Notes MASSACHUSETTS

A Chevrolet Celebrity, deadheading back to Boston from Logan Airport, is pulled over by a Boston policeman. The offense: an expired inspection sticker; the fine: $50. But not for a car bearing license plate STATE 1 that moments earlier had Massachusetts' favorite son riding in the rear passenger seat. A warning will do.

No big deal, until the Boston Herald ran a picture of the Chevy with its spanking-new inspection sticker in the window and the Governor and his driver standing nearby. Headline: DUKE FAILS TO STICK TO INSPECT LAW. Before long, the crack drive-time team at one of Cape Cod's largest radio stations began repeating the story, complete with sirens in the background, advising listeners that they too could avoid tickets if only they had a Governor riding in the backseat. The "Backseat Governor" spots tapped a well of venom toward Dukakis, who recently jacked up registration and driver's-license fees as well as speeding fines. In response to callers, workers at WCOD began making cardboard cutouts -- no redundancy intended -- of the Duke suitable for backseat duty. The first batch of 100 propped-up caricatures sold out immediately, and there were orders for 500 more.