1992 Presidential Debates
1992 Presidential Debates
Nationally televised U.S. Presidential debate between U.S. President George Bush (George Herbert Walker Bush), Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton (William Jefferson Clinton), and Reform Party candidate H. Ross Perot, held in Atlanta, Georgia, and moderated by Carole Simpson.
1992 Presidential Debates
Debate moderator Carole Simpson introduces debate forum, comprised of 209 undecided voters. Unidentified white man asks H. Ross Perot what he'll do to open foreign markets to fair competition from U.S. business, and vice versa in order to create new jobs at home; Reform Party candidate H. ROSS PEROT says, "That's right at the top of my agenda. We've shipped millions of jobs overseas-- we've a strange situation b/c we have a process in Washington where after you've served for a while, you cash in, become a foreign lobbyist, make $30,000 a month, then take a leave to work on Presidential campaigns, then go back out... We have got to stop sending jobs overseas... If you're a businessman... and you don't care about anything but making money, there will be a giant sucking sound going south..." H. Ross Perot doesn't seem too fond of the proposed NAFTA agreement, but also doesn't seem to understand it either.
1992 Presidential Debates
U.S. President GEORGE BUSH (George Herbert Walker Bush) says that U.S. exports have "saved us in this global economic slow-down, and what I'm trying to do is increase our exports." President George Bush approves greatly of NAFTA and other free-trade agreements b/c "export jobs are increasing far faster than any jobs that may have moved overseas." "We want to have more jobs here, and the way to do that is to increase our exports. Some believe in protection; I don't. I believe in free and fair trade..." President Bush says the GATT and Uruguay Trade Rounds will "really open up markets for our exports, agriculture, particularly. After we get this NAFTA ratified later this year I want to get one with Eastern Europe, Chile. Free and fair trade is the answer, not protectionism... It's exports that have saved us."
1992 Presidential Debates
Arkansas Governor BILL CLINTON (William Jefferson Clinton) says he knows many people who have lost their jobs to overseas competition, and that "the trick is to expand our export base and to expand trade on terms that are fair to us... Make sure other countries are as open to our markets as our markets are to them... Change the tax code. There are more deductions in the tax code for shutting plants down & moving overseas than there are for modernizing plants here. Our competitors don t do that... Stop the federal government's program that now give low-interest loans & job-training funds to companies that will actually shut down & move to other countries but we won t do the same for plants that stay here. More trade but on fair terms, and favor investment in America."
1992 Presidential Debates
Unidentified white man wearing suit & sporting ponytail and bushy moustache asks if the candidate can focus on the issues, and not on the mud-slinging of traditional campaign politics. U.S. President GEORGE BUSH (George Herbert Walker Bush) says caring, strength and a backbone are part & parcel to the Presidency, and he's more than willing to talk nitty-gritty. Reform Party candidate H. ROSS PEROT says he knows "the American people want to talk about issues, not tabloid journalism." Ross Perot says he has no spin doctors or speechwriters working for him, makes the audience laugh. Arkansas Governor BILL CLINTON (William Jefferson Clinton) says contrary to the opinion of his stage-mates, he has no experience with Washington politics-- "I'm just as sick as you are by having to wake up & figure out how to defend myself everyday." H. Ross Perot says he has no foreign money or lobbyists, and no PAC money working for his campaign.
1992 Presidential Debates
U.S. President GEORGE BUSH (George Herbert Walker Bush) says he strongly supports Congressional term limits: "... Congress has gotten kind of institutionalized. For 38 years, one party has controlled the House of Representatives. And the result? A sorry little post office that can't do anything right, and a bank that has more overdrafts than all of Chase Bank & Citibank put together... a bureaucratic arrogance if people stay there too long..." Governor of Arkansas BILL CLINTON (William Jefferson Clinton) says he opposes Congressional term limits b/c smaller states already have a difficult time getting their issues heard, and an increased influence from already-powerful non-elected Congressional aides; Bill Clinton says he prefers cutting the Congressional staff, spending caps on campaign finance, limits on political action committees, and open debate forums. Reform Party candidate H. ROSS PEROT says he would serve one term & one term only: "I do not intend to spend one minute of one day thinking about re-election." Ross Perot also says he would work as U.S. President for free. "We have got to reform government. If you put term limits in & don t reform gov't, you won't get the benefits you're talking about."
1992 Presidential Debates
Unidentified African-American woman asks the candidates how the national debt has personally affected their lives, insinuating that the men are far-removed from the economic problems of the average citizen. Reform Party candidate H. ROSS PEROT says his third-party presence in the campaign is evidence of how much the issue affects him; "I have lived the American Dream. I came from a very modest background. Nobody's been luckier than I've been." U.S. President GEORGE BUSH (George Herbert Walker Bush) says the national debt affects everybody, but the woman asking the question presses the President on how it has affected him personally, which seems to momentarily stun him; "Are you suggesting that if somebody has means that the national debt doesn't affect them?" The woman elaborates, providing a laundry list of friends obviously suffering from the recession. President George Bush replies, "I don t think it s fair to say, You haven't had cancer therefore you don't know what it's like... But everybody's affected by the debt... I think in terms of being the President, of course you feel it when you're President..."
1992 Presidential Debates
Arkansas Governor BILL CLINTON (William Jefferson Clinton) walks directly to the woman asking the question regarding how the recession/national debt affects the candidates personally; he softens his voice and breaks down the image barrier by addressing the matter on a personal level; Bill Clinton blames the American rich and the Washington insiders for the recession, then says we need to invest in American jobs & education, and control health care costs.
1992 Presidential Debates
U.S. President GEORGE BUSH (George Herbert Walker Bush) makes closing remarks: "Let me just say to the American people that in just 2 1/2 weeks we're going to choose who should sit in the Oval Office; who to lead the economic recovery; who to be the leader of the free world; who to get the deficit down... I do not want to raise taxes. I do believe that we need to control mandatory spending. We need to invest & save more. I believe that we need to educate better & re-train better. I believe that we need to export more... I believe that we must strength the family. We've got to strengthen the family... If you were appointed to name one of the three of us, who would you choose? Who has the perseverance, the character, the integrity, the maturity to get the job done? I hope I'm that person."
1992 Presidential Debates
Reform Party candidate H. ROSS PEROT makes closing remarks: "If the American people want to do it & not talk about it, then I'm one person they ought to consider. If they just want to keep slow-dancing & talk about it & not do it, I'm not your man. I'm results-oriented. I'm action-oriented. I've built my businesses getting things done in 3 months that it took my competitors 18 months to do. Everybody says you can't do that with Congress. Sure, you can do that with Congress... but we get the job done... I am passionate about education..." Ross Perot announces a pilot program for disadvantaged children. "And finally, if you can't pay the bills, you re dead in the water. We've got to put our nation back to work. Now, if you don t really want to do that, then I'm not your man... I didn t create this mess; I've been paying taxes just like you. Lord knows I've paid my share, over a billion dollars in taxes... It's in your hands. I wish you well. I'll see you tomorrow night." Ross Perot laughs heartily while plugging his nationally broadcast infomercial, then engages in a Texas-sized handshake with President George Bush.
1992 Presidential Debates
Governor of Arkansas BILL CLINTON (Williams Jefferson Clinton) delivers closing remarks: "... these problems are not easy, and they re not going to be solved overnight... the people of my state have let me be their Governor for 12 years b/c I made commitments to more jobs & better schools. Our schools are now better. Our children get off to a better start... and we have one of the most aggressive adult education programs. My state ranks first in the country in job growth... It happened b/c I can work with people... You have to decide whether you want to change or not. We do not need four more years of economic theory that doesn't work. We've had 12 years of trickle-down economics. It's time to put the American people first to invest & grow this economy... But you cannot get there just by balancing the budget... I got into this race b/c I did not want my child to grow up to be part of the first generation of Americans to do worse than her parents... I want to make America as great as it can be, and I ask for your help in doing it."