Is it possible to target IE8's compatibility view in CSS?

Question

Is this possible? I'd of assume that compatibility view is much like the older IE's, so I tried

<!--[if lt IE 8]>
 css goes here
<![endif]-->

but it doesn't work.

Answer 1

That says: "if IE version is *l*ower *t*hen to 8. Try:

<!--[if lte IE 8]>
 css goes here
<![endif]-->

Answer 2

A valuable resource for dealing with IE8, doctypes, and standards vs. quirks mode is found in Activating Browser Modes with Doctype. Make note of the X-UA-Compatible header/meta tag. Also note that your if is targeting anything less than "lt" IE 8, which means you'll never trigger your CSS in IE 8.