The 1996 presidential election is often remembered as one of the duller contests in modern U.S. history.
At the time, the Clinton Administration was not particularly beloved. The economy had not yet fully rebounded, and foreign policy missteps, like Black Hawk Down and the muddled approach in Bosnia, left many Americans uneasy.
The Republican Party had a deep bench: Newt Gingrich, the face of the 1994 “Republican Revolution;" Dick Cheney, the seasoned former Defense Secretary; the war hero General Norman Schwarzkopf; the popular and moderate General Colin Powell; the culture warrior Pat Buchanan; the Californian Pete Wilson; and outsider businessman Steve Forbes with his flat tax plan.
Instead, Republicans chose Bob Dole, the 73-year-old senator with a biting wit, a war hero’s gravitas, and a resume rooted more in Washington than Main Street. To many voters, Dole felt like a relic of an earlier era: more comfortable on Meet the Press than in front of a rally crowd.
So, If the 1996 GOP primary had come down to these candidates, who do you think would have won the nomination? Who had the best shot at beating Bill Clinton?