The ailing economy which arose from recession may have been the main factor in Bush's loss, as 7 in 10 voters said on election day that the economy was either "not so good" or "poor".[266][267] On the eve of the 1992 election, the unemployment rate stood at 7.8%, which was the highest it had been since 1984.[268] The president was also damaged by his alienation of many conservatives in his party.[269] Bush blamed Perot in part for his defeat, though exit polls showed that Perot drew his voters about equally from Clinton and Bush.[270]
Despite his defeat, Bush left office with a 56 percent job approval rating in January 1993.[271] Like many of his predecessors, Bush issued a series of pardons during his last days in office. In December 1992, he granted executive clemency to six former senior government officials implicated in the Iran-Contra scandal, most prominently former Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger.[272] The charges against the six were that they lied to or withheld information from Congress. The pardons effectively brought an end to the Iran-Contra scandal.[273]
According to Seymour Martin Lipset, the 1992 election had several unique characteristics. 