Race for the White House (2016) s01e06 Episode Script

1 REPORTER: Democratic Presidential candidate Bill Clinton is denying allegations he carried on an extramarital affair with a former nightclub singer.
You're under attack, labelled a draft dodger, a womaniser.
Somebody offered her a lot of money and she took it.
Your presidential campaign is collapsing.
Dreams of the White House receding.
Who can you trust? Your friends? Family? Strategists? When you're on the edge of the political abyss Not a good night.
how do you fight back? GEORGE HW BUSH: I am pleased to announce that, at midnight tonight, all United States and Coalition forces will suspend offensive combat operations.
- This war is now behind us.
- (Cheering) American forces arrive home victorious from the Gulf War after evicting Saddam Hussein from Kuwait.
George HW Bush is now the most popular president in modern history.
PAT BUCHANAN: I was down on Constitution Avenue when the Army of Desert Storm marched up.
And it was something like Rome when the legions are coming back.
And I was so awed by it.
At the conclusion of the war, his approval rating was 90%.
Now that was a halo effect from war.
It looked like maybe a good position to start a successful re-election.
(Cheering) But with 16 months to the election, Bush is reluctant to start the campaign engines.
JOHN SUNUNU: His first responsibility is to remain as President.
You can't give up the fourth year of a presidency just because you have to run for President.
Bush is number one in the polls.
He fears no Democrat.
Most of the front runners looked at those numbers and decided, "I'm going to keep my powder dry and wait four years.
This is not a good year to to run.
" But one man is considering a run for President.
Bill Clinton has won five terms as Arkansas Governor, but he's still relatively unknown outside his home state.
With little political backing he flies to California to see his lawyer.
We sat at the airport in Santa Monica for a long, long time, a couple of hours, and discussed it.
He said, "Wow, everybody's afraid of George Bush.
They don't want to run.
" He pretty much said, "I'm going to do this.
" He asked me, would I be involved and I said, "Of course.
I'll do whatever you want.
" Fresh from running a successful senatorial campaign in Pennsylvania are top guns James Carville and Paul Begala.
PAUL BEGALA: There's a hotel two blocks from the Capitol Building.
And Carville and I went in there.
And we sat there in the bar drinking iced tea talking.
- (Indistinct chatter) - And he said, "You know, my daughter's going to come of age in the year 2000.
" And he talked about the kind of country he wanted to leave to her.
However smart an ability to connect with people that you think Bill Clinton has, you have no idea.
(Chuckles) He's, like, so much better in person than you think he is.
You know, so often with these guys, they are kind of an empty vessel into which we have to pour some content.
He was passionate about how to empower people more, give them dignity and skills and training and childcare and work.
James said, "My only question: Is this guy too good to be true?" I'd, like, never met anybody like that in politics.
Carville and Begala sign up to run his campaign.
(Cheering and whistling) Together we can provide the leadership that will restore the American dream.
Clinton has a mountain to climb.
We've got to invest more money.
Since 1968, the Democrats have taken the White House just once.
JAMES CARVILLE: We were a traumatised political party, and it was accepted that we'd fallen outside of the mainstream of America.
And that is why today I proudly announce my candidacy for President of the United States of America.
(Cheering) In Washington DC, Bush still hasn't declared, leaving his campaign team to fend off calls from eager Republican donors.
We would convey the urgency that was being conveyed to us from the states and the donors and the supporters and such.
And we were met with resistance from the White House.
I think he really wanted to work, you know, doing the presidential stuff.
That's what he, you know, enjoyed.
That's what he excelled at.
He wanted to wait as long as possible.
PAT BUCHANAN: He is yesterday and we are tomorrow.
We will put America first.
His guard down, Bush gets blindsided.
And so I am today declaring my candidacy for the Republican nomination for President of the United States.
(Cheering) When Buchanan announced, we were caught with our pants down completely.
(Whistling) Pat Buchanan is a monolith of the Republican Party, a social conservative and key member of the Reagan administration.
I felt we could not allow the election of 1992 to go forward without having our different views from President Bush represented in the primaries.
And the first primary is in New Hampshire.
Bill Clinton is up and running.
He's pitted against lawyer and former Massachusetts senator Paul Tsongas.
- What's your name? - Bob Geller.
Good to see you.
You been doing this? Yes.
SAMUEL POPKIN: Clinton really knew how to talk to the good old boys, the pickup truck people.
BILL CLINTON: How we doing? How long has this pig been on? SAMUEL POPKIN: He could sound like America and he understood what they cared about and how to get to them.
It wasn't for nothing that they called him "Bubba.
" By mid-January, Clinton has edged in front of rival Paul Tsongas (Ringing) but his world is about to come crashing down.
Hello.
The phone call was from Bill Clinton.
He told me what was being published, what was coming out the next morning.
At that moment, I was scared to death.
"Yes, I was Bill Clinton's lover for 12 years.
" REPORTER: Democratic Presidential candidate Bill Clinton is denying allegations he carried on an extramarital affair with a former nightclub singer.
(Indistinct conversation) JAMES CARVILLE: He said it wasn't true.
If it was true, it's hardly a disqualifying thing to run for President.
Not a good night.
When the story hit, the option was: What is the most vigorous response that we can give to deal with this? You knew you had to be aggressive.
REPORTER: Bill Clinton and his top advisors have taken great pains to select a TV forum for the candidate and his wife Hillary to refute the tabloid charges, finally settling on a special edition of 60 Minutes on CBS.
Carville and Begala write a memo outlining a strategy for the 60 Minutes interview.
Critical to Clinton's defence is his wife, Hillary.
JAMES CARVILLE: "January 24th, 1992.
Hillary she's our ace in the hole.
Like you, she needs to be calm and confident.
Unlike you, she can leap to your defence.
" We thought, if somebody this impressive is in love with him and gonna stick with him, well, maybe I can stick with him.
Tonight, Democratic Presidential hopeful Governor Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary talk about their life, their marriage and the allegations that have all but stalled his presidential campaign.
PAUL BEGALA: Carville and I were in the adjacent room watching on monitors and as is my habit, I took furious notes just to keep myself occupied.
STEVE KROFT: Are you prepared tonight to say that you've never had an extramarital affair? I'm not prepared tonight to say that any married couple should ever discuss that with anyone but themselves.
You know, I have acknowledged wrongdoing.
I have acknowledged causing pain in my marriage.
I think most Americans would agree that it's very admirable that you have stayed together.
That you've worked your problems out.
That you seem to have reached some sort of an understanding - and an arrangement.
- Wait a minute.
- Wait a minute.
Wait a minute.
- (Laughs) You're looking at two people who love each other.
This is not an arrangement or an understanding.
This is a marriage.
That's a very different thing.
You know, I'm not sitting here as some little woman standing by my man, like Tammy Wynette.
I'm sitting here because I love him and I respect him and I honour what he's been through and what we've been through together.
And, you know, if that's not enough for people, then, heck, don't vote for him.
PAUL BEGALA: She was so strong.
She was so steady.
She was so able.
And that sent a big message to a lot of voters.
If that HILLARY CLINTON: Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Whoo! Whoo! Whoo! PAUL BEGALA: One of these lights fell.
A huge, hot light.
And he scooped Hillary off that sofa and pulled her over and she just clung to him.
I mean, it could have knocked her block off.
And that was the authentic moment.
HILLARY CLINTON: Whoo! I'm all right.
Somehow, 60 Minutes never put that on the air.
Even without the authentic moment, the interview has worked.
In an ABC News poll, four out of five Americans say Clinton should stay in the race.
JAMES CARVILLE: Once we did 60 Minutes, then, that allowed us to say, "Look, I've dealt with that.
Let's not deal with my problems.
Let's deal with your problems.
Let's have an election about you, not an election about me.
" (Horn honks) The campaign heads back to New Hampshire.
The Democratic primary is now just three weeks away MAN: Read our lips.
so too is the Republican primary.
MEN: Read our lips! No taxes! With George Bush still in Washington, his Republican rival Pat Buchanan has New Hampshire all to himself.
The walls of Washington DC are shaking right now - over what is going on.
- Buchanan has a simple message.
The President's word can't be trusted.
MAN: We believed George Bush when he promised Then he hit us with the largest tax increase in history.
I went from 15% gradually up and he kept coming down.
The state of New Hampshire is in deep trouble and George Bush is in deep trouble, which is exactly where he ought to be.
New Hampshire is a state that punishes candidates for not earning the vote.
So, if there's any plausible primary opposition you had, you had to go up there and campaign.
(Band plays) (Indistinct conversation) Goaded into action, Bush heads north to fight it out with Pat Buchanan.
GEORGE HW BUSH: And I believe that, when it comes Tuesday, I will carry this state, I hope, substantially.
I believe I will go on to have another four years as President, but I need your help.
Bush has finally entered the race, but Clinton's campaign is about to go into a tailspin.
Once again, Democratic Presidential candidate Bill Clinton has been put on the defensive over questions about his character.
The Arkansas Governor denies a report that suggests he schemed to dodge the draft during the Vietnam War.
Allegations of womanising are one thing.
Draft dodging is a far bigger problem.
People want their politicians to have served, to be loyal to the military, to stand up for the country.
And so, when that hit, we dropped precipitously.
We collapsed.
Like so many people in my generation, I felt a profound ambivalence.
The New Hampshire primary is one week away.
BILL CLINTON: I love my country, but I hated the war.
Stan Greenberg, our pollster, had the new numbers and he said, "It's over.
We lose.
We're going to be below 10%, maybe five.
We don't have a chance.
We lose.
" REPORTER: Though the facts remain jumbled, the 1992 news about Clinton's 1969 draft status is that it has, for the moment, distracted his campaign.
Two scandals in less than a month have left Bill Clinton lagging behind his Democratic rivals in the key New Hampshire primary.
Bill Clinton said, "Look, it's my own fault.
I caused the problems, but I'm going to deal with them.
We're going to win this.
Let's all get some sleep.
Let's go get 'em tomorrow morning.
" I just have one thing to say about the next eight days.
I'm going to fight like hell.
Hi, folks.
He started going to duckpin bowling alleys.
He started going to shopping centres.
He went anywhere he could find people.
- Hi.
- Hi, how are you? But he just thought every moment, every second, "I've gotta try.
" - Good to see you.
- Hang in there.
Things are gonna turn around for you.
JAMES CARVILLE: It was the most remarkable thing I've seen in politics, where you literally were watching a guy literally fight for his life, for his political life.
- Good luck.
- Thank you.
I need your help.
Then, the hour of reckoning.
The atmosphere in the room before the results came in was very tense, kind of gloomy.
A lot of gallows humour.
And the first exit polls come out and we were shocked.
Instead of 5%, we got, like, 25.
It's not a win, but it's time to make it look like one.
(Cheering) And I sat there on a little crummy laptop and banged out a statement that said, "New Hampshire, tonight you make me feel like the comeback kid.
" (Cheering) BILL CLINTON: I think we know enough to say with some certainty that New Hampshire tonight has made Bill Clinton the comeback kid.
(Cheering) George Bush has won his primary as well, beating Pat Buchanan.
But two days later, there's a new challenger in town.
(Band plays) No.
1, I will not run as either a Democrat or a Republican, cos I will not sell out to anybody but to the American people.
Ross Perot has made his fortune in technology.
Now he wants to use his business acumen to balance the federal budget.
Ross Perot was a credible, successful business guy.
He built a gigantic company and so he had a lot of street cred.
To his opponents, Perot's a quicksand sucking in both Bush and Clinton voters.
He was trying to run on a Conservative message, which certainly would take away from President Bush's vote total.
Anybody who starts out with nothing and makes $6 billion, you have to assume they know something.
By June, Bush has defeated Pat Buchanan and Clinton's sweep of his primaries guarantees him the Democratic nomination.
But, nationally, both lag behind Perot in the polls.
REPORTER: If the election were held today, Ross Perot might be president.
Clinton's campaign needs a fix of adrenaline.
Hillary comes to the rescue again.
PAUL BEGALA: She said, "Bill, you need to go on the Arsenio Hall Show.
" So, of course we did.
Arsenio Hall is huge with young Americans.
PAUL BEGALA: So Clinton goes to the Arsenio Hall Show.
Carville and I were sitting in the dressing room with him.
I pulled my sunglasses and I said, "You gotta wear my sunglasses.
" And he took them, but he looked at me really sceptically.
So he turned to James, who is 17 years older than me, same age as Governor Clinton.
And he says, "James, what do you think?" Carville had the greatest line.
"Governor, everything before the Beatles, I decide.
Everything after the Beatles, Paul decides.
This is definitely a post-Beatles call.
" PRESENTER: Arsenio Hall! Heartbreak Hotel (Cheering) He put those glasses on and went out and played and created one of the iconic images of the campaign.
(Cheering) MARY MATALIN: Not only did we not see that coming, we couldn't compete with that.
Can you imagine putting President Bush on Arsenio Hall? (Cheering) The youth vote loved it.
It spoke to change.
It was really, really brilliant.
(Whooping) So the candidate has rocked the youth with his saxophone.
- My feelings exactly.
- (Laughter) But is that all there is to Bill Clinton? America still isn't sure.
PAUL CARVILLE: People wanted to know more about where he came from.
He burst on the scene.
He's got, like, a different wife.
He's smart.
He seems to have a lot of controversy around him.
"Who in the hell is he? Where did he come from? I don't know anything about him.
" BILL CLINTON: I was born in a town called Hope, Arkansas.
Three months after, my father died.
I remember living in that old, two-storey house where I lived with my grandparents.
And I remember going to What are the three things you want people to know? He worked his way up.
He was born poor.
He's one of you and that was the start of telling you the story, the central story of the man from Hope.
BILL CLINTON: I end tonight where it all began for me.
I still believe in a place called Hope.
- (Cheering) - God bless you and God bless America.
Clinton tells his story and America is buying it.
He's chosen his running mate: Fellow Southerner Al Gore.
Two blonde wives.
Everybody looks young.
Perfect day.
Don't stop thinking about tomorrow.
OK, I was gagging.
But in terms of the visual reinforcing your message, it was the most perfect roll out announcement I've ever seen.
REPORTER: And the three-way race becomes a two-way race as the can-do businessman Ross Perot quits.
ROSS PEROT: Now the Democratic Party has revitalised itself, I have concluded that we cannot win in November.
Is this real? Did it really happen? Am I stoned? So, therefore, I will not become a candidate.
Mr Perot! Mr Perot! SAMUEL POPKIN: He actually dropped out.
One minute you're the $6 billion man who's going to get under the hood and fix it.
And the next minute, you say, "The hell with it!" I mean, he saw the Clinton-Gore and said, "It's over!" I wish you all the best.
I hope you have a chance MARY MATALIN: I was thrilled.
We did not need a third party in there and we did not need a third party that was attacking us.
That's great, you know.
Now we got Bush one on one.
Great.
(Lively music) REPORTER: Back here at the Astrodome here in Houston, the Republicans continue filing into the hall.
Bush drags behind Clinton by more than 20 points.
The Republican Convention is his chance to scramble back.
REPORTER: Pat Buchanan is going to come out here tonight and endorse George Bush.
With Pat Buchanan out of the race, the Bush team need to corral his conservative supporters.
- (Cheering) - What a terrific crowd this is.
CHARLIE BLACK: So the decision was made to ask Pat to speak.
He agreed that he was going to be totally loyal and supportive of Bush.
The first thing I want to do tonight is to congratulate President George Bush and the Buchanan brigades are enlisted.
But Buchanan goes off-script and straight into social conservative rhetoric.
There is a religious war going on in this country.
It is a cultural war as critical to the kind of nation we shall be as the Cold War itself.
CHARLIE BLACK: One of my colleagues said, "What the hell is this guy doing?" And I said, "Well, he's screwing us.
That's what he's doing.
" It allowed the press to portray us as both a divided party and pandering to the right-wing social conservatives.
(Cheering and whistling) Buchanan's speech risks driving Republican voters away from George Bush.
Rattled, the President tries to deflect by going after Clinton.
My opponent says America is a nation in decline.
Well, don't let anyone tell you that America is second-rate, especially somebody running for President.
(Cheering) But Bush still isn't convincing the voters.
So, with 11 weeks until the election, he calls a trusted ally.
WOMAN: Mr Secretary, are you the new Chief of Staff? I was scared to death when I heard James Baker was coming to the White House.
He is as able a political hand as there is.
James Baker had been the architect of Ronald Reagan's landslide victory in 1984.
I've asked Secretary Baker to resign as Secretary of State to join me as Chief of Staff, effective August 23rd.
He's the sort of man you want on your team.
You're ten points ahead and all of a sudden, you know, here comes Joe Montana trotting on the field.
Oh, uh-oh.
GEORGE HW BUSH: He will help me build on what we've started by developing an integrated second-term programme of domestic The clock is ticking for the Bush team and Baker is their hail Mary pass.
MARY MATALIN: James Baker knows how to parachute into a chaos and bring focus, bring a strategy and execute.
(Band plays) DAVE CARNEY: Literally, when Baker took over, it was night and day.
From a clown car disaster to decisions were made and that was it.
- (Cheering) - What a wonderful welcome.
Governor Clinton insists on cutting America down.
Well, I am focusing on the future.
We're moving towards a better recovery.
But we must not set it back by more spending and more taxes.
The messaging got crisper.
The President was more confident.
Governor Clinton Governor Clinton promises the moon to America while the sky is falling in on Arkansas.
(Cheering) The polls narrow.
In Little Rock, Carville creates a command centre to hit back at the Republicans.
It's called The War Room.
They made sure that no attack wasn't answered within the immediate news cycle.
And he wants to raise taxes by 150 million, just to start.
When Bush would say, "You raised taxes," - Clinton's answer was - On agriculture.
On taxes.
On jobs.
On defence.
You name it, he just makes it up.
Bill Clinton has promised to increase government spending $220 billion.
You knew what the attacks were going to be on you.
You prepared for them.
You were ready to go.
Bill Clinton has accused George Bush of lying about his record.
We had trackers.
We knew what Bush was doing, where he was going to be.
Mr Bush is in Tennessee once again grossly misrepresenting my record and positions.
Carville has circled the wagons around his candidate.
With a month to go, Bush knows he has to knock Clinton out in the upcoming Presidential debates.
CHARLIE BLACK: President Bush's strengths in debates were talking about his record, about what he'd done, talking about issues.
The two sides meet to hammer out a format for the debates.
(Phone rings) Mickey Kantor gets a call from Clinton.
He has an idea that plays to his strengths and highlights Bush's weaknesses.
He says, "Look, why don't we try a town hall-type debate? Have people ask the questions.
" I said, "Oh, they'll never agree to that.
They'd be nuts.
" He said, "Well, just try it.
See what they'll do.
" And they said yes and I nearly fell out of my chair.
I thought, "Oh, my God, they've no idea what they've got themselves into.
They're going to walk into a town hall debate with Bill Clinton.
" Good evening and welcome to the second of three Presidential debates.
70 million Americans tune in to watch the live Presidential debate.
MODERATOR: The candidates are the Republican nominee, President George Bush He's authentic and he's real and he cares and that comes out in a debate, so it was a good opportunity.
independent, Ross Perot After ten weeks, Ross Perot is back.
Apparently, America does need him after all.
DAVID CARNEY: We knew Ross Perot would be a problem.
You vote for Bush, you vote for Clinton.
Now you have a third choice.
MODERATOR: And Governor Bill Clinton, the Democratic nominee.
PAUL BEGALA: Presidential debates are not only a show, they are a series of moments.
The key is dominating a moment that can then be put on the morning shows, the evening news, recycled.
Nowadays, it'd be going viral.
MAN: OK, so, Bill Clinton's team are leaving nothing to chance.
PAUL BEGALA: We got stools, you know, like the ones they would have to sit on.
And we practised with Clinton, setting up like a runner in a starter's blocks.
Don't sit back.
Sit up like this.
One leg on a rung, one foot on the floor.
And as soon as you can, spring out of that chair.
Spring out and go engage that audience member.
MICKEY KANTOR: We said, "There will come a time where you can walk up to somebody and really relate to them.
And that's exactly what you want to show the American people.
" We were so obsessed that, sorry to admit this now, we stole those those stools.
That's right.
They stole the stools.
PAUL BEGALA: And when we got to the debate hall, we took the ones they were going to use and we put our stools out there.
So that even his rear end would be comfortable in the same stool that he had practised in.
MODERATOR: Let's get it on.
And I think the first question is over here.
MAN: Yes, I'd like to direct my question to Mr Perot.
PAUL BEGALA: And there's a TV wheeled in on a stand.
We're all like coiled springs.
Carville is pacing.
He can't sit still.
His mother used to call him a toaster, pops up every three minutes.
Then, Bush is asked a question out of left field, for him anyway.
WOMAN: How has the national debt personally affected each of your lives? And if it hasn't, how can you honestly find a cure for the economic problems of the common people if you have no experience in what's ailing them? GEORGE HW BUSH: I think the national debt affects everybody.
Obviously, it has a lot to do with interest rates.
- It has - She's saying you personally.
WOMAN: You on a personal basis.
How has it affected you? The question was somewhat convoluted, and I really do think it confused President Bush.
Well, I'm sure it has.
I love my grandchildren.
- I want to think WOMAN: How? I want to think they're going to be able to afford an education.
I think that that's an important part of being a parent.
If the question maybe I won't get it wrong.
Are you suggesting that, if somebody has means, that the national debt doesn't affect them? - What I'm saying - I'm not sure I get it.
Help me with the question and I'll try to answer it.
We were sitting in the room and it was like "Game over.
" Clinton leapt out of his chair, walked over to her.
BILL CLINTON: Tell me how it's affected you.
Erm You know people who have lost their jobs and lost their homes.
PAUL BEGALA: Instead of answering, he asked questions.
"I bet you know somebody who's been laid off, or you have been.
" "Yeah.
" Well, I've been governor of a small state for 12 years.
I'll tell you how it's affected me.
When people lose their jobs, there's a good chance I'll know 'em by name.
When their businesses go bankrupt, I know them.
And I've been out here for 13 months meeting in meetings just like this ever since October with people like you all over America.
People that have lost their jobs, lost their livelihood.
We were in that holding room cheering and throwing our hands in the air.
Just great.
We've gone from first to 12th in the world in wages.
It is because we are in the grip of a failed economic theory.
Clinton gave her an answer which didn't answer her question, but made her and the audience watching on television think that this was a man that was truly empathetic to the plight of Americans.
Control American health care costs and bring the American people together again.
- Thank you, Governor Clinton.
- (Whistling) Yes! It was one of those moments, few will ever happen in life, where you knew you had seen you had seen something extraordinary happen.
The government is not serving you.
The debate has only been going on for an hour.
For George Bush, it must feel like a lifetime.
JOHN SUNUNU: In the middle of the debate, George Bush is caught on camera looking at his watch.
CHARLIE BLACK: It obviously was an unconscious move.
He was getting a lot of negative questions - and he looked at his watch.
- You're paying for that.
Those schools belong to you.
In other words, he knew he wanted out of there.
MODERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes the debate.
President Bush just couldn't wait for the debate to finish.
The Republicans are out of time and out of ammunition, almost.
WOMAN: In his 12 years as Governor, Bill Clinton has doubled his state's debt and signed the Yet his state remains the 45th worst in which to work.
- The 45th DAVE CARNEY: Our message was: Bill Clinton was not trustworthy to be President.
No way they'd select this guy if they knew about his record.
WOMAN: And now Bill Clinton wants to do for America - what he's done for Arkansas.
CARNEY: If people knew about it, our theory was that, you know, we would win, I mean, clearly.
- (Cheering) MAN: I want to give you the greatest President of the United States: George Bush, ladies and gentlemen.
Lagging behind the Democrats, Team Bush devote the remaining days of the campaign hitting Clinton where they hope it hurts.
The question is: Who has the character and the trust to lead the United States of America? WOMAN: You can't trust Clinton economics.
It's If we cannot believe anything he has said about his past, how can we believe anything he's saying about the future? We wanted to hammer home that you couldn't trust his judgment.
WOMAN: 100 leading economists say his plan means Infuriated, Clinton calls his Campaign Chief.
"He's called me untrustworthy.
I can't let this sit out there.
" And I said, "Look, Governor, keep yourself focused on what we're about.
We're really effective on this economic message, on change.
" Clinton ignores his advice.
He rips up the script and goes for Bush.
The very idea that the word "Trust" could ever come out of Bush's mouth after what he has done to this country and the way he has trampled the truth is a travesty.
Well, guess what you've just done? You've just crapped all over your message.
(Cheering) GEORGE HW BUSH: Governor Clinton said, "I want to do for this country what I've done for Arkansas.
" No way! I did not get into this race to run my opponents down.
I got into this race to build America up.
My dog Millie knows more about foreign affairs that these two bozos.
The latest NBC News Wall Street Journal poll shows Bill Clinton's lead down to five.
Lift this country up.
Move this country forward.
That's what this election is about.
Don't let them take it away from you.
GEORGE HW BUSH: And so I'm not done yet.
And I ask for your support on the basis of character and trust.
- Thank you very much.
- (Cheering) On the Thursday night before the election, we had the race tied dead-even.
At 11:37 am, somebody walked into my office and handed me the AP wire.
The day before Halloween, the ghost of an old scandal has arisen to haunt George Bush.
Newly-released notes made in 1986 by then Defence Secretary Casper Weinberger appear to contradict Bush's assertion he was out of the loop on the arms for hostages deal with Iran.
And it's just like whoosh.
It was like hitting a brick wall.
The 1986 Iran-Contra scandal had nearly broken the Reagan-Bush administration.
Now, conveniently for the Clinton campaign, it's back.
Today's disclosure not only directly contradicts the President's claims it diminishes the credibility of the Presidency.
That guaranteed bringing Iran-Contra the the top of the news for the last four days of the campaign.
Wounded, Bush lashes out.
Being attacked on character by Governor Clinton is like being called "Ugly" by a frog.
- Don't worry about it.
- (Cheering) REPORTER: Good morning.
George Bush, Bill Clinton, Ross Perot.
Americans go to the polls and select a President today 1992.
MICKEY KANTOR: Oh, boy, nervous.
As anyone would be in that situation.
Everyone was.
Well, there are a number of very close races in the South.
We expect a great deal of drama in this region throughout the evening.
I was scared.
You're thinking, "The difference in my life between us winning and losing" (Chuckles) REPORTER: Most of the polls are now closed in North Dakota and in the Senate race there.
CHARLIE BLACK: We were in Houston, which was where President Bush liked to celebrate election nights.
REPORTER: Let's take a look at the national numbers now so far.
We got morning waves and they had us way down, like, 15 points down.
REPORTER: The electoral map is looking lopsided in favour of Bill Clinton.
The afternoon wave wasn't better.
It had us 12 points down.
REPORTER: The Democratic Presidential nominee swept the east, including the big electoral prizes of New York and Pennsylvania.
That brings his electoral vote total to That's but five away from the magic number and 64 for George Bush.
(Cheering) In Little Rock, Clinton's people realise they've won.
It was the most delirious feeling you can imagine.
And all you wanted to do was go around and hug everybody.
(Cheering) I just called Governor Clinton over in Little Rock and offered my congratulations.
He did run a strong campaign.
I wish him well in the White House.
Ross Perot has failed in his bid too, but he's taken nearly 20% of the vote.
as long as I'm around.
God bless you.
Thank you very much.
Had Perot not been in that race, you'd have had a very close race between Bush and Clinton and Bush might well have won.
May God bless the United States of America.
- Thank you very, very much.
- We deserved to lose.
The President didn't, but those of us involved in the campaign deserved to get crushed.
- (Cheering) REPORTER: After ten o'clock, the 270 number was reached.
The big thing is the relief.
Son of a bitch.
MAN: We love you, Bill.
BILL CLINTON: My fellow Americans Backed by a surge of support from the young and the old, Clinton has trounced George Bush.
On this day with high hopes and brave hearts and massive numbers, the American people have voted to make a new beginning.
(Cheering) There was a strong sense in the country that, with the victory in the Cold War, we needed to turn our attention back home.
This election is a clarion call for our country to face the challenges of the end of the Cold War and the beginning of the next century.
He represented something else: Youth, change, energy, progress.
(Cheering continues)