The Ultimate American Presidential Election Book: Every Presidential Election in American History (1788-2024) is now available! https://amzn.to/4jTGlPt Mr. Beat's band: http://electricneedleroom.band Donate to Mr.Beat for perks: https://www.patreon.com/iammrbeat The 52nd episode in a very long series about the American presidential elections from 1788 to the present. I hope to have them done by Election Day 2016. In 1992, billionaire Ross Perot shakes things up. #mrbeat #presidentialelectionsinamericanhistory #elections Feeling dorky? Visit here: http://www.countingthevotes.com/1992 The 52nd Presidential election in American history took place on November 3, 1992. (clip of Bush- read my lips, no new taxes) Yeah, George H.W. Bush had alienated most conservatives by straight up breaking that pledge. I mean, man, he tried, but he ended up having to give in and compromise with the Democrat-controlled Congress. Plus, the economy went back into a recession. And yet, Bush remained popular with the majority of Americans. After the United States and coalition forces kicked butt in the Persian Gulf War, his approval rating got as high as 89%. This likely helped Bush get the Republican re-nomination, with Dan Quayle again as his running mate. However, it’s worth noting that Pat Buchanan, a journalist and former advisor to Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan, challenged Bush and put up a good fight. Buchanan’s main beef with Bush was the fact that he raised taxes. The Democratic Party again had several candidates interested in their nomination. None of them had ran for President in the last election. Senator Al Gore would have, but his son was recovering from a horrible car accident so he decided not to run again. One of the candidates who ran was Bob Kerrey, a Senator from Nebraska, who I am only mentioning because I had a fantastic conversation with him when I used to live in Omaha, but yeah, he couldn’t gain any momentum. The leading three contenders were Bill Clinton, the Governor of Arkansas, Jerry Brown, the former Governor of California, and Paul Tsongas, a former Senator from Massachusetts. Despite the fact that several scandals seemed to follow Bill Clinton no matter where he went, including a scandal that alleged he cheated on his wife, Hillary Clinton (have you heard of her?) his charm won over most Democrats. Clinton became the nominee, and he asked Al Gore to be his running mate. Back in February of 1992, a billionaire businessman named Ross Perot appeared on Larry King Live to open the possibility of running for President, despite the fact that he had never held public office before. Soon after, a huge grassroots movement swept the country to get Perot on the ballot in every state. Getting on the ballot in every state was a big deal back then for a third candidate, and it still kind of is. James Stockdale, a war hero and former prisoner of war in Vietnam, was Perot’s running mate. By May, he was the frontrunner, leading over both Bush and Clinton in the polls. However, by July the establishment media had been regularly attacking him, and he didn’t know how to handle it well. He was, after all, getting attacked by both Republicans and Democrats. There were also internal issues within his campaign. And then, in July, almost seemingly out of the blue, Perot dropped out of the race. To this day, it remains a mystery why he exactly did this. He later explained it was to protect his daughter, but that still seems like a weird excuse. His supporters felt betrayed. Flash forward to October, and all of sudden Perot said he was back in the race. He qualified for the presidential debates, and it was only the second time a third party candidate was allowed in a televised debate- the first being John Anderson back in 1980. However, these debates were extra special because it was the only time in American history where three candidates all got to debate each other at the same time on TV. And the debates were exciting! This was a classic three-way race. Really. Supporters of all three candidates thought their candidate had a good chance to win up until the end really. Clinton and Perot attacked Bush because of the lagging economy. Clinton remained a charmer, but critics pointed out character flaws. In addition to allegations of cheating on his wife, Clinton was criticized for dodging the draft during the Vietnam War and smoking marijuana. (but I didn’t inhale) Oh how the times have changed. Ross Perot, despite being a billionaire who spent tens of millions of dollars of his own money to run his campaign, ran as the outsider who wanted to end crony capitalism and the special interests in Washington. Perot stood out as the only candidate who criticized NAFTA. He could never regain the momentum he had back in the spring, however, distantly in third place behind Bush and Clinton in the polls right before election day.