Election+of+1992

Welcome to the election wiki. Here you will find information about the candidates, controversial issues, and results. Thank you for visiting! __ General Information: __
 * Date of election: November 2, 1992
 * Incumbent: George Bush Sr.
 * Republican Candidates:
 * George Bush Sr.; VP= Dan Quayle
 * Pat Buchanan (former presidential advisor)
 * Democratic Candidates:
 * Bill Clinton; VP= Al Gore
 * Paul Tsongas (former Mass. Senator)
 * Jerry Brown (governor of California)
 * Independent Candidate:
 * Ross Perot; VP= James B. Stockdale

__ Issues Leading Up to the 1992 election: __
 * 1) Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (1990)- landmark law prohibiting discrimination against millions of U.S. citizens with physical or mental disabilities
 * 2) 1991- G.Bush appointed Clarence Thomas, conservative African American, took Thurgood Marshall’s lone black man spot in Supreme Court; nomination opposed by liberal groups due to his opinions on abortion and affirmative action, taking factors such as race, religion, sexuality, ect. Into consideration to benefit a group that was discriminated against in the past
 * 3) In bush’s presidency, unemployment rate exceeded 7% by 1992
 * 4) Federal budget deficit mushroomed, 250 billion a year added; Bush added 1990 tax with Congress of 133 million-political catastrophe (said no new taxes in his 1988 campaign)
 * 5) America experienced a recession (due to unstable financial circles, rising interest rates, and Iraq oil crisis) a great magnitude. It was the biggest one since the 1980s and also took place during George H. Bush's term.
 * 6) Persian Gulf War- U.S. (sent by Prez. G. Bush) and U.N. allies aided Iran against Iraq and Saddam Hussein (Iraq leader); “Operation Desert Storm” lasted four days and forced Saddam to accept cease-fire and Kuwait was liberated.
 * 7) Falling of Berlin wall- heralding the imminent end of the 45 year long Cold War
 * 8) Breakup of Soviet Union (communist power)-also ended Cold War- two nuclear superpowers were fighting [in Cold War] and the USSR dismantled itself after Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as Soviet president in Dec. 1991

__ Party Conventions/Position on Issues: __
 * The candidates in 1992 often addressed the issues found in the economy, governmental spending, taxes, and health care.
 * Democrats : For the Democratic Party, candidates included former California governor Jerry Brown, former Massachusetts senator Paul Tsongas, and former governor of Arkansas Bill Clinton. The Democratic candidates all agreed on their platform: economic opportunity. This included free enterprise and jumpstarting private and public investments, especially in “transportation, environmental technologies, defense conversion, and a national information network.” They addressed getting rid of the deficit “accumulated” by the Republican Party and an increase in family agriculture markets. Their platform also included educating children to be the best workforce, reforming job safety in the nation, and creating an affordable health care system.
 * Republicans : The Republican Party candidates were former President George H. W. Bush, and Pat Buchanan . They used the idea of strengthening family ideals and morals as a way to strengthen the union for a stronger government. They prioritized the rights of children and families, like not allowing laws to be enacted disrupting the rights of any family, and a voucher system for low-income households; improving public education and testing scores across the nation, like high school graduation rights being 90%; and reforming health care, like cutting costs of treatments. Their platform also included ending dependency on the nation, ensuring public safety on every street, and submitting “a program of tax cuts and incentives designed to get the economy moving again.”
 * Independent: Ross Perot mainly focused his campaign on plans to balance the federal budget, further economic nationalism, implement "electronic town halls" throughout the nation for direct democracy, and strengthen the war on drugs. He also strongly favored abortion as a woman's right and supported same-sex partnership benefits.
 * However, although the candidates did agree with the platforms of their party, once the race narrowed down candidates to Perot, Clinton, and Bush, both Clinton’s and Bush’s economical views differed from their normal party views. During the debates, it was found that, “Mr. Bush does not go along with the Republican supply-siders like Housing Secretary Jack F. Kemp who favor tax cuts at any cost. And Mr. Clinton has taken pains to distinguish himself from Democrats who support huge new Government programs financed by much higher taxes” (NY Times). Basically, most democrats wanted to raise taxes to gain for revenue to pay off debt, but Clinton disagreed. Bush was the opposite; Republicans wanted to cut taxes at all costs, but Bush wanted only necessary cuts, maybe not any in ord er to keep revenue to pay off debts.

__ Results: __ Bill Clinton won the election of 1992 with an overall popular vote of 44,909,889 to Bush’s 39,104,545 and Perot’s 19,742 267. Although Perot didn’t win, he had the highest percentage of votes for an independent party in history.

__ Visual: __ The map above shows the parties that won each state along with the number of electoral votes they received.

__ Significance: __

We believe that the 1992 election is significant in two areas. Initially, it marked the first time in history that an Independent candidate had the hi ghest percentage of votes and won 19% percent of the popular vote. This in the end resulted in Bush losing and Clinton going on to be President. Although Perot did not win, he still caused a rift in the stereotypical “democrat vs. republican”. Secondly, it was an election that brought new traditions to light and broke up old ones. Since 1980, the government had been under control of one republican president after the other. With the breaking of the cycle, the administration was able to appoint new men and women who had fresh ideas to turn the economy around; every once in a while, change can be for the better. Also, it was the first time that the “town hall” style debate was added. This allowed for normal citizens to ask the candidates questions regarding their feelings and possible solutions. The 1992 election was relevant because of the exciting third party candidate and the changing political parties. __ Product: __

The 2nd Debate **Location:** Richmond, Virginia **Participants:** George Bush, Bill Clinton and Ross Perot **Moderator**: Carole Simpson
 * Date ** : October 15, 1992
 * Results: ** Winner-Bill Clinton, 58%. Losers- George Bush, 16% and Ross Perot, 15%

The debates held for the 1992 election marked the first and last time that three candidates shared a single stage in television debates. The candidates debated four times in a nine day period, the first and last two consisted of a moderator asking the men questions. The second debate was held like a “town hall meeting” style, with questions being asked from the voters; this was the first time that this format had been used.

The questions asked focused around the economy, lobbyists, the growing national debt, and finally trustworthiness/character.

The 3-D display is modeled after the second debate, a “town hall meeting”. The high lights of the debate include:
 * The audience asked that the candidates not attack one another, which hindered Bush from attacking Clintons “character”.
 * Bush was seen on national television checking his watch, and answered questions by re asking them to the audience. "I'm not sure I get it. Help me with the question and I'll try and answer it."
 * Perot’s performance lacked energy. He thought that reducing the national debt was important, but lacked specifics.
 * When asked about the national debt, Clinton referred back to his days working as governor, and accused America as not “investing in its people.”

Work Citied:

Bailey, Thomas Andrew, David M. Kennedy, and Lizabeth Cohen. "Chapter 43." The American Pageant. 11th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998. 1004-016. Print.

"Democratic Party Platforms: Democratic Party Platform of 1992." Democratic Party Platforms: Democratic Party Platform of 1992. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2012. [].

"1992 Presidential Debates." AllPolitics. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2012. .

"1992 Presidential Election." University of California Berkeley, 7 June 2011. Web. 1 Nov. 2012.

"Presidental Elections." N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2012. [].

"Republican Party Platforms: Republican Party Platform of 1992." Republican Party Platforms: Republican Party Platform of 1992. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2012. [].

Rosenbaum,, David E. "THE 1992 CAMPAIGN: ISSUES -- Economic Philosophy; Candidates Sharply Divided On Prescription for Economy." The New York Times. The New York Times, 10 Oct. 1992. Web. 06 Nov. 2012. [].