Clinton won the 1992 presidential election (43.0% of the vote) against Republican incumbent George H. W. Bush (37.4% of the vote) and billionaire populist H. Ross Perot,
who ran as an independent (18.9% of the vote) on a platform focusing on
domestic issues; a large part of his
success was Bush''s steep decline
in public approval. Previously described as "unbeatable" because his approval ratings were in the 80% range during the Persian Gulf conflict, Bush saw his public approval rating drop to just over 40% by election
time because of a souring economy.<21>
Additionally, Bush reneged on his promise not to raise taxes
when he compromised with Democrats in an attempt to lower the Federal
deficits; this hurt his approval rating among conservatives. Clinton
capitalized on Bush''s policy switch, repeatedly condemning the
president for making a promise he failed to keep.<21>
Finally, Bush''s party base was in disarray. Conservatives had previously been
united by anti-communism, but with the end of the Cold War, new issues would have to emerge. The 1992 Republican National Convention was perceived by some moderate voters to have been uninspiring and usurped by religious conservatives.<22>
All of this worked in Clinton''s favor. Clinton could point to his
moderate, "New Democrat" record as governor of Arkansas, though some on
the far left remained suspicious of him leading up to the election.<23> Many Democrats who had supported Ronald Reagan and Bush in previous elections switched their allegiance to Clinton.<24>
His election ended an era of Republican rule of the White House
for the previous 12 years, and 20 of the previous 24 years. The
election also gave the Democrats full control of both branches of
Congress, the House of Representatives and the Senate. Clinton was the first president to enjoy this privilege since Jimmy Carter in the late 1970s.
However, questions of conlict of interest regarding state buissness and the politically powerful Rose Law Firm,
at which Hillary Rodham Clinton was a partner, arose during the
campaign. Further controversy arose when Bill Clinton announced that
voters would be getting two presidents "for the price of one".
Considering Hillary Clinton''s prominent role in the administration,
especially in such projects such as health care, adoption and foster
care reform, and foreign policy, "co-presidents" became a popular
deragotary term for the Clintons among conservatives.
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