ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a mass psychological reaction to broader structural conditions that affect how people think and feel politically. Whether or not this public anger is well founded is really beside the point. The more important issue is to recognize and understand the underlying psychology of the electorate and to assess its impact on political campaigning in general and on Bill Clinton’s election in particular. Although the main point of thee s analysis is to understand how the 1992 Clinton campaign appealed to this public psychology, it is worth reviewing the main underlying changes that produced it. In brief, several major trends are driving the electoral quest for the often elusive short-term approval that defines the psychological relations between candidates and voters. The chapter tracks the story from the primary trail to the convention and on through the campaign, showing how and why the Comeback Kid was reinvented as the Man from Hope.
