Other reactions
National Journal’s CongressDaily
August 18, 1992
Although the delegates appeared to love Pat Buchanan’s takeno-prisoners speech Monday night, Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., said today he believes waging cultural war using social issues like abortion and homosexuality is a political loser. “I don’t think it appears to be a winning issue for the president,” Lugar told reporters. “It’s not an appealing message.” When asked about the GOP attacks this week on Hillary Clinton, Lugar said, “I wish they would cut it out.” Lugar suggested the Republicans should instead run on a strong foreign policy and strategies for economic growth. Asked about Bill Clinton’s foreign policy speech last week, Lugar moved further into the sbipartisanship arena. “I thought it was a good speech,” he said. But he also emphasized Bush’s greater experience in the foreign policy area.
CNNAugust 20, 1992
NEWS
SESNO: Let me ask you one other question here. It is not just Pat Buchanan who’s had these very critical comments. We’ve also heard from Pat Robertson, who said that Bill Clinton was going to give gays, or suggested that gays would become ‘a privileged minority.’ Marilyn Quayle took a shot at Hillary Clinton, and Newt Gingrich said that Democrats, for example, ‘despised American values.’ This has been a drumbeat now, or at least with some, and some suggest that this indicates that George Bush is not running – or this party is not running – on its record so much as it’s running against others, groups, persons.
Sometimes the reaction of the base, not so good of a measure of how a speech goes.