The :30 Second Candidate

1992
Independent candidate Ross Perot bought half-hour blocks of network television time to talk to voters about deficit reduction and using technology to increase citizen participation. These "infomercials" were mostly talk illustrated with very simple graphics.

Jeff Greenfield of CNN comments: "(Perot) took a lot of money and spent it on 30-minute substance-filled commercials, un-gimmicky, face-to-camera, here's-what-I'm-going-to-do, and he wound up with 20% of the vote which, except for Teddy Roosevelt, is the best third party record in this century."

Perot finished third behind George Bush and election winner Bill Clinton.

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