With a coalition victory in the Persian Gulf War and high approval ratings, Bush's re-election initially looked likely; however, he was criticized by many conservatives for breaking his pledge of never raising taxes.

Early counting of ballots in the New Hampshire primary favored Buchanan,[7] but the final results gave a victory to Bush.

[10] Meanwhile, Democrats nominated Bill Clinton, the governor of Arkansas as their presidential nominee, with Al Gore, a senator from Tennessee, as his running mate.

In September 1990, Bush and congressional Democrats announced a compromise to cut funding for mandatory and discretionary programs while also raising revenue, partly through a higher gas tax.

[37] But by 1992, many conservative Republicans' support of Bush had waned for a variety of reasons, including raising taxes and cutting defense spending.

[51] As early as 1989, Quayle's poor public standing was noted by the Washington Post, which conducted a poll that found voters did not consider him fit to take over the presidency by a 52 to 38 percent margin.

[10] Nevertheless, there were reports that Bush did indeed consult with top confidantes about replacing Quayle on at least two occasions, including in a conversation with Chief of Staff James Baker.

In addition to Buchanan; David Duke, Pat Paulsen, Harold Stassen and Jack Fellure had also challenged Bush.

[60]Buchanan ran on a platform of immigration reduction and social conservatism, including opposition to multiculturalism, abortion, and gay rights.

[65] On the evening of the Georgia primary, in an interview to The Atlanta Constitution, Bush accepted that the tax increases in the 1990 budget deal had been his "biggest mistake".

[66] During a speech in May 1992 at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, Quayle discussed the high costs of the breakdown of the two-parent family and mentioned the sitcom television series Murphy Brown.

Heading to the convention, Robert Teeter said that the south was critical for Bush's re-election strategy, since both Bill Clinton and Al Gore were southerners.

[77] Before the convention, Bill Clinton's poll numbers were rising, sharply affected by the fact he delivered his acceptance speech on the same night when Ross Perot dropped out of the race.

[81] Bush opened his acceptance speech with issues related to foreign policy, taking credit for the multiple changes that had convulsed the world since the previous RNC convention four years before.

[82] He said: My opponents say I spend too much time on foreign policy, as if it didn't matter that schoolchildren once hid under their desks in drills to prepare for nuclear war.

[89] Clinton appeared on The Arsenio Hall Show on June 3, 1992, the day after he secured the Democratic Party nomination, and played "Heartbreak Hotel" on the saxophone.

[94] Throughout April, the draft efforts continued and Perot appeared on talk shows for discussing his plans and positions on political issues.

[96] Speculation arose in the media that Perot would split the electoral college and force the United States House of Representatives to decide the presidency.

[97] He had also been deterred because of rumors that Bush campaign was planning on embarrassing his daughter by publicly releasing her doctored photographs and disrupting her wedding.

[98] He asked his supporters to look for other candidates to nominate for the race and formed United We Stand, a citizen action organization to "influence the debate" by .

[100] On August 23, while addressing a rally at Lakeland, Florida, Quayle claimed that Bush planned to reduce taxes and spending to create new jobs.

[106] During speeches, Bush focused on his idea of letting parents, not government, choose their children's schools, whether public, private or religious.

[109] In early September, the feud between Quayle and Murphy Brown again gathered attention as the vice president responded to Diane English's comments.

[117]In late September, during a rally in Springfield, Missouri, Bush said:I hear candidate Clinton is up in Michigan today talking about debates.

[119] By the end of September 1992, he had addressed many rallies along with Quayle, criticizing Clinton's campaign either for his economic plan or for his views on foreign affairs or national security.

[131] He stressed his Clean Air Act, and blamed the Democratic-controlled congress for ignoring his plan of cutting dependency on foreign oil.

[139] The ads attacked Clinton over his tax increase as governor of Arkansas, criticized his health care plan and his inconsistency on major issues like term limits and defense.

I wish him well in the White House, and I want the country to know that our entire administration will work closely with his team to ensure the smooth transition of power.

[153] White House Chief of Staff and one of Bush's re-election campaign manager James Baker pointed out that "Perot took two out of every three votes from traditional Republican voters.

During his presidency, he led efforts to have his father and Clinton work together to provide help and private aid to those affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.