ionaire business man gained credibility when he taunted the two major parties on theirunwillingness to address the dangers of the budget deficit, national debt and the trade imbalance (Black,_ ). Third parties do best at times of discontent with the major parties and when headed by a well-known person(Black,_). Perot at first was not known to many but he used television to his advantage to become a householdname (Black,_). That coupled with the disgust of the voters with the Democrat and Republican gridlock inWashington propelled Perot into serious contention (Black,_). At one point Perot was given 40% of the vote inpolls (Judis,_). Was that the only reason Perot was included in the debates? No. The Bush campaign had insisted that Perotbe included in the debates (Black,_). Bush was trailing in the polls and the campaign strategist needed to dosomething dramatic to change the race (Black,_). So in their debate negotiations with the Clinton campaign theyinsisted Perot be included reasoning that a one-on-one challenge between Bush and Clinton was not to Bush’sadvantage (Black,_). So the tables were set. We know the results of the election. Clinton won and Perot received19% of the vote. So what is the difference for Perot in 1996? Interestingly enough is the fact that the Republican campaigndoes not want Perot included in the debates believing Perot will only draw votes away from Dole (Debenport, 8B).That might bring up speculation as to whether or not the major debating parties actually control who participatesin the debates. In actuality however the Commission on Presidential Debates convened an advisory board todetermine Perot’s participation. A letter from the Advisory Board to the Commission on Presidential Debates to the Co-Chairmen of theCommission on Presidential Debates gives us the boards determination as to Perot’s exclusion from the debates. Itstated that they reviewed the data that ...
