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: 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–
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. Despite the fact that the now-infamous "No new taxes" pledge had haunted the President for the last three years, the economy was barely mentioned. AIDS activist
Mary Fisher, who has HIV, addressed the convention, making an eloquent plea for her cause. (She also addressed the
1996 RNC). During his acceptance speech, President Bush thanked former President
Richard Nixon (during whose tenure Bush had served as a
U.S. Representative,
Ambassador to the United Nations and
Chairman of the Republican National Committee) for his advice and contributions to the administration's foreign policy. This would be the last RNC to take place during Nixon's lifetime, as he would die
less than two years later. Restaurateur
Ninfa Laurenzo delivered the
Pledge of Allegiance at the opening session on August 17, 1992. Secretary of Labor
Lynn Martin delivered the nomination speech of President Bush for re-election. The nomination was seconded by
J. C. Watts. The stadium banned outside food from the convention, but set up a food court in the nearby
Astroarena. The food court operations included Atchafalaya River Cafe,
Bambolino's,
Frenchy's, Luther's Bar-B-Q,
Ninfa's, PeaColes, and Tommy's Burgers. Some restaurant owners had connections with the Houston Host Committee, the group in charge of the vendor market of the Astroarena, and Republican Party officials. The hot dogs and soft drinks sold by the Astrodome's official caterer, Harry M. Stevens, were not present during the convention. Vendors at the convention paid Stevens a fee so they could sell food at the convention, as specified in Stevens' contract with the Astrodome. 1992 was the first Republican to which the territory of
American Samoa had ever sent delegates, making this the first roll call in which American Samoa had cast votes for a Republican nominee. ==Presidential nomination roll call vote==