Perot & Buchanan's prophetic 1992 presidential campaign.

  REVILED AT THE TIME, THEY WERE RIGHT

TRADE AND DEBT WERE THE WARNINGS

The 1992 U.S. presidential campaign was a prophetic warning for the nation. In the Republican primary, Pat Buchannan warned of trade deals that would hollow out the U.S. economy, destroy the manufacturing base and pressure the middle class. He predicted what would later materialize and provide Donald Trump with some of the main issues in his campaign. He also warned about unlimited and lax immigration enforcement. After a strong challenge in New Hampshire, he was assaulted with  overwhelming accusations of racism and anti-Semitism. George Bush won the primary 72% to 23%. Bush 's popularity was weakened by his former pledge of " No new Taxes" which he quickly broke and his boasting of some kind of "NEW world Order" which raised alarm bells in some circles. Was this onset of the lone remaining super power ideology and endless war?

In the general election, Ross Perot, a Texas businessman,  ran as an independent, Bill Clinton was the Democrat and Bush. Perot was surprisingly very competitive, even rising to the top the of polls at one point. It was an indication of the growing discontent with the candidates from the entrenched parties. Perot was famous for his description and prediction of the "giant sucking sound" of jobs leaving the nation. He also was hoping to pay off the debt and stop deficit spending. When it seemed that Perot could actually win, he suddenly withdrew from the race claiming that his daughters life had been threatened, something that seemed outrageous at the time, but certainty not by today's standards.

While Perot reentered the race, his momentum had stalled and he ended with winning 18% of the vote, Clinton 43% and Bush 37%. some accused Perot of throwing the election to Clinton by his candidacy, but it seemed he was very sincere in hoping to move the nation in a new direction. 

Both Buchanan's and Perot's analysis of the direction of the country was very accurate, maybe they were just too far before their time and it was in an era were the media was of one mind and no alternative available. 

Clinton went on to approve NAFTA and GAAT that globalized trade and contributed to the decimation of the U.S. manufacturing ability. He pretty much did the same things that one could have predicted from Bush, regime change war in Yugoslavia, NATO expansion, and the policy of U.S. power expansion in the name of expanding democracy. He did cooperate with the opposition party to nearly erase the budget deficit and reform welfare, but in trade and foreign affairs he was like many, probably not in control of the ship.  

While Trump capitalized on the crisis of immigration, loss of manufacturing and regime change wars whose seeds were formed at the time of the 1992 election, it has now all blossomed into a myriad of problems that under the best circumstances will take decades to correct.