The convention is notable in that it featured the last major address of the long political career of former President Ronald Reagan , Bush 's predecessor . In his speech , Reagan told Americans that : Whatever else history may say about me when I 'm gone , I hope it will record that I appealed to your best hopes , not your worst fears , to your confidence rather than your doubts . My dream is that you will travel the road ahead with liberty 's lamp guiding your steps and opportunity 's arm steadying your way . My fondest hope for each one of you — and especially for the young people here — is that you will love your country , not for her power or wealth , but for her selflessness and her idealism . May each of you have the heart to conceive , the understanding to direct , and the hand to execute works that will make the world a little better for your having been here . As the economy was in a recession and domestic affairs in general had dramatically decayed , the GOP lagged in the polls by double digits behind the Bill Clinton &ndash; Al Gore Democratic ticket after a successful Democratic Convention , and with Ross Perot temporarily out of the race , the Republican Party worked hard to rally its base of social conservatives . Pat Buchanan 's opening night " Culture War " speech argued that a great battle of values was taking place in the United States . Republican National Committee chairman Rich Bond ( referring to Democrats ) claimed that " we are America , they are not America . " Marilyn Quayle dismissed Bill Clinton 's claim to a new generation of leadership by saying , " Not everyone demonstrated , dropped out , took drugs , joined in the sexual revolution or dodged the draft . " Regarding Buchanan 's speech , liberal humorist Molly Ivins quipped that it " probably sounded better in the original German . " Twenty years after the convention , the '' New York Times '' wrote , " Supporters of Mr. Bush pointed to the tone of the convention as one of the reasons he lost re-election that November to Bill Clinton , " as it centered more on Reagan-era values and Bush 's international credentials at a time that the main issue was the domestic crisis . The fact that the now-infamous " No new taxes " pledge had haunted the President for the last three years , the economy was barely mentioned
Democratic Convention
1992 Democratic National Convention
1992 Republican National Convention