Why did Bill Clinton win the election?

Bill Schneider
CNN Political Analyst

1.President Clinton did what he was elected to do: turn the economy around. By election day, most Americans thought the nations economy was better than it had been in 1992.

2.Since 1992, voters had two bad experiences with big agendas. The Democrats overreached their mandate with heath care reform in 1993-94. Then the Republicans made the same mistake with the Contract with America in 1995-96. Clinton shrewdly ran a small-agenda campaign in 1996 -- the Nouvelle Deal. Dole's tax-cut plan was too big an agenda, and looked too risky to the voters.

3.Voters re-elected Clinton despite widespread doubts about his character. In CNN's election day exit poll, most voters continued to say Clinton is not honest and trustworthy. They re-elected him because of his job performance-- and crossed their fingers that character would not prove to be a major problem.

Charles Bierbauer
CNN Sr. Washington Correspondent

1.He's in the national comfort zone. Even if things are not great, they are not bad. Even if you don't trust him, you don't necessarily dislike him.

2.Yes, the economy. All those Republicans who were complaining about the stress on the family look too well-fed and clothed to be suffering.

3.Teflon. Pat Schroeder said it about Ronald Reagan and she says it about Bill Clinton. The charges don't stick. With Clinton the personal ethics charges especially seem to slide off. They've been discounted by the voters.

Candy Crowley
CNN Congressional Correspondent

Bill Clinton won because:

1.The economy was seen as healthy

2.Newt Gingrich and the Republican Congress were seen as scary

3.The Clinton campaign was strategically flawless

Jonathan Karl
CNN Special Correspondent

1.Peace and Prosperity: an incumbent's best friends.

2.Party Unity: President Clinton had no challenger in the Democratic primary. This allowed him to move to the right without worrying about losing support on the left.

3.By adopting Republican positions on welfare, crime and immigration, President Clinton neutralized hot-button Republican issues.

4.The ineffectiveness of the Dole/Kemp campaign.

What could Bob Dole have done to improve his chances?

Why did Dole win the Republican nomination?

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