When the 100th Congress convened on January 6 , 1987 , Wright was elected Speaker of the House ( 254 – 173 over Republican Robert H. Michel ) , succeeding Tip O'Neill , who had retired after 10 years in the post . At the time , Wright stated that being speaker of the House " is the greatest responsibility that can come to a lawmaker anywhere in the world . " In July 1988 , he chaired the Democratic Party convention that nominated Michael Dukakis for president . During that convention , Wright introduced John F. Kennedy Jr. for Kennedy 's first televised speech . Almost 25 years earlier , on November 22 , 1963 , President John F. Kennedy , in his last speech before being assassinated , praised Wright 's service in the Congress , saying " and here in Fort Worth he has contributed to its growth . He speaks for Fort Worth and he speaks for the country , and I do n't know any city that is better represented in the Congress of the United States than Fort Worth . " While Dukakis lost the 1988 presidential election to Republican George H. W. Bush , Democrats retained control of the House in the coinciding congressional elections , thus when the 101st Congress opened on January 3 , 1989 , Wright was re-elected as speaker
Democratic Party convention
1988 Democratic National Convention
Jim Wright