1992 Republican National Convention
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The 1992 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States was held in the Astrodome in Houston, Texas, from August 17 to August 21 1992. The convention re-nominated President George H. W. Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle.
The convention is most notable in that it featured the last major address of former President Ronald Reagan's long political career. In his address, Reagan told Americans that
whatever else history may say about me when I'm gone, I hope it will record that I appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears, to your confidence rather than your doubts. My dream is that you will travel the road ahead with liberty's lamp guiding your steps and opportunity's arm steadying your way. My fondest hope for each one of you—and especially for the young people here—is that you will love your country, not for her power or wealth, but for her selflessness and her idealism. May each of you have the heart to conceive, the understanding to direct, and the hand to execute works that will make the world a little better for your having been here.
The convention is also remembered for the perception it reinforced of a Republican Party committed to social conservative values. This perception was emphasized by Pat Buchanan's famous opening night "culture war" speech where he argued that a great battle of values was taking place in the United States. Republican National Committee chairman Rich Bond when talking about the Democrats also stated that "we are America, they are not America". The Clinton campaign was quick to criticise such rhetoric and the media also gave them great prominence.
Some maintain that the focus on social conservative values was a calculated attempt to shore up the conservative Republican base that had been drifting away from the president. However, most involved in the campaign contend that the remarks were inadvertent, a product of insufficient scrutiny of speeches given by mavericks like Buchanan and slips of the tongue by men like Bond. They also point out that of the 128 speeches given at the convention very few of them focused on such themes.
The convention energized the Republican base, giving the Bush-Quayle ticket a significant boost in the polls, though it still trailed Clinton-Gore by several points. However, the surge proved to be short-lived as Ross Perot re-entered the race and Clinton maintained a steady lead through to Election Day.