Author: Gerald M. Pomper

Publisher:

Published: 1993

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13:

Pomper of the Eagleton Institute of Electoral Politics at Rutgers University, a distinguished group of political scientists make extensive use of survey data from CBS News/New York Times polls to explain just what happened to the once-bright prospects of George Bush, how persistent concerns about the state of the economy shaped the primary and general election contests, and how Ross Perot, even while losing, contributed to significant changes in American politics. Walter Dean Burnham of the University of Texas at Austin provides a historical perspective for understanding Bush's role as an "understudy" president whose lack of respect or talent for the charismatic dimensions of the office undermined his effectiveness and popularity. Ross K. Baker of Rutgers University tracks the primary process to illustrate the effects both of Clinton's remarkable fortitude in facing down the multiple and repeated attacks on his character and of Bush's mistaken tilt toward his party's right wing. F.