1992: Bill Clinton vs. George H.W. Bush

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Voted for Clinton in '92 and would vote that way today.  I remember that race quite well--I was in my early 20's at the time.  In many respects, I liked Bush '41, and the first vote in a presidential election I ever cast was for him in '88.  I was fairly happy with his handling of foreign policy in his first term too, I was very happy that he signed the ADA, and his extensive experience was reassuring to me in many ways.  But his approach to the economic difficulties the country was facing seemed quite aimless.  I was aware in the last few months of the general that the economy was experiencing a slow but upward turn, but Bush didn't appear to have a plan.  What was most appealing to me about Clinton, once he was nominated, was that he presented himself as a guy who knew what he wanted to do, who had studied problems empirically and crafted solutions to them.  He got up during the debates and responded to almost every question with the routine: "here are the three reasons why we're having trouble and here are the three things that should be done about it."  For my own tastes in argument, I never saw a campaigner who was that effective before, and I doubt I'll ever see one as effective ever again.  I went into the voting booth surer than I have been for any election before or since, and I don't really see any compelling reason why I'd change my mind if I could "relive" it.