Reply #5: Well, it's a matter of perception. [View All]

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

They think that because Bill Clinton won by moving to the right. I think that theory completely ignores the fact that Bill Clinton won because he's the most charismatic candidate anyone's seen since Kennedy and because Ross Perot took 19% of the vote. People forget Clinton only got 42% of the vote in 1992 (by way of comparison, Kerry and Gore each got 6% more than Clinton did). In fact, here's a few states Clinton won largely thanks to Mr. Perot:

Georgia
Clinton - 43.5%
Bush - 42.9%
Perot - 13.3%

Ohio
Clinton - 40.2%
Bush - 38.3%
Perot - 21%

Montana
Clinton - 37.6%
Bush - 35.1%
Perot - 26.1%

Then, of course, in 1996, the country started going pretty well and Clinton was an incumbent, so he didn't need Perot's help all that much.