| − | In the '''1992 presidential election''', President [[George H.W. Bush]] stood for reelection. He had received strong support for the way he had handled foreign relations during his term in office, but the economy was slumped. Bush had the confidence of the [[Republican]] party, which nominated him for reelection. The [[Democrats]] nominated young Arkansas Governor, [[Bill Clinton]], as their candidate. A wealthy oil-businessman named [[H. Ross Perot]] also ran as an independent. The candidates conducted a firm and long campaign and appeared in several live televised [[Presidential Debates]]. Clinton won a majority of the [[Electoral College]] despite receiving only a [[plurality]] of the popular vote. | + | [[Image:92-main.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush]] In the '''1992 presidential election''', [[President]] [[George H. W. Bush]] stood for reelection. He had received strong support for the way he had handled foreign relations during his term in office, but the economy was slumped. Bush had the confidence of the [[Republican]] party, which nominated him for reelection. The [[Democrats]] nominated young [[Arkansas]] [[Governor]], [[Bill Clinton]], as their [[candidate]]. A wealthy oil-businessman named [[H. Ross Perot]] also ran as an independent. The candidates conducted a firm and long campaign and appeared in several live televised [[Presidential Debates]]. Clinton won a majority of the [[Electoral College]] despite receiving only a [[plurality]] of the popular vote. |
| | + | Bush enjoyed historically high approval ratings after his decisive [[military]] victory in [[Operation Desert Storm]] in 1991. Ironically, the fall of the [[Berlin Wall]] and collapse of the [[Soviet Union]] under Bush's Presidency hurt him in his reelection [[campaign]] in that it resulted in [[foreign policy]] not being a prominent issue, with no Soviet threat. The campaign focused almost entirely on domestic concerns and an [[economy]] in a mild recession. A prominently placed sign in Clinton’s campaign headquarters read "It’s the economy, stupid!" Bill Clinton ran a different, more youthful campaign, by making frequent appearances on MTV and daytime talk-shows, and took questions from live [[audience]]s, which proved to be a comfortable setting for him. He distanced himself from past Democratic Party candidates like [[George McGovern]], [[Walter Mondale]] and [[Michael Dukakis]], by running as a centrist. He cited the ticket’s support of the [[death penalty]], a balanced budget, middle clss [[tax]] cuts and a desire to "end welfare as we know it." |