ABSTRACT
At the beginning of the 1992 presidential campaign, George Bush had several advantages vis-à-vis the Democrats for reelection. He enjoyed a big lead in the polls. Bush’s leadership of the allied coalition during the war against Iraq had propelled him to the highest level of popularity of his presidency. In March 1991 his approval rating in a CNN/Time poll was nearly 90 percent (Yankelovich et al., 1992). A survey published in the Los Angeles Times on March 9, 1991, found that 86 percent of respondents said that Bush had strong leadership qualities (Pomper, 1993,41). Patriotism and pride in America’s strength as a world power seemed to sweep the nation.
