Pundits say nation must unite

After months of endless mudslinging and name-calling in the 1992 presidential race, the three candidates finally seem to agree on one thing -- the country must unite in order to succeed. Independent candidate Ross Perot was the first to stress unity Tuesday night during his concession speech. "The American people have spoken," he said. "They have chosen Governor [Bill] Clinton." "Oh, no, no. Wait a minute," Perot continued after a chorus of boos, "The only way we're going to make it work is if we all team up together . . . We must all work together to rebuild our great country." President Bush echoed Perot's sentiments in his own concession speech later that night, calling for a "smooth transition of power" between the Bush and Clinton administrations. He too said that the country must stand behind President-elect Clinton. "And now I ask that we stand behind our new president, and regardless of our differences, all Americans share the same purpose, to make this, the world's greatest nation, more safe and more secure and to guarantee every American a shot at the American Dream," Bush said. Even Vice President Dan Quayle seemed to throw in his support for Clinton, saying that "if he runs the country as well as he ran his campaign, we'll be all right." While these remarks seem typical of concession speeches and general political rhetoric, many people said they feel that this time the candidates genuinely desire to unite the nation and make the United States a stronger country. Engineering and Wharton freshman Eric Fitzpatrick, a Perot supporter, said he thinks that the Texas billionaire was sincere during his speech. "[Perot] always talked straight as to what he felt, and the reason he was in the race was for the American people," Fitzpatrick said. "He's already made a name for himself, [so] he didn't have that much to gain from political rhetoric." Victorious Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) offered similar sentiments to those of the presidential candidates during his acceptance speech late Tuesday night. "America came of age in 1992," he said. "It is time for Pennsylvanians and Americans to unite on the pressing problems confronting our state, our nation and the world." Ian Lustick, a political science professor at the University, said he sees the nation's attitude as a definite and positive change. "There is a feeling in the country that hasn't been present after a presidential election since 1960," he said. "A sense of a new world, home and abroad, which must be made for our future to be as bright as our past . . . a challenge that has to be met." President-elect Clinton, continuing his message of a need for change, tried to appeal to his former opponents' supporters Tuesday night. "All those who voted for Mr. Bush or Mr. Perot . . . I know you love your country too," he said during his acceptance speech in Little Rock, Ark. "We need your help too, and we will do our best to deserve it." Wharton freshman and Finance Director of College Republicans Dan Debicella accepted what Clinton said, but warned that the new Democratic Congress could potentially cause problems. "There's definitely a mood out there that there has to be something done," he said. "We will have to negotiate with the Democrats, [and] I'm afraid that the Democrats will say 'we're not going to negotiate.' My hope is that Clinton is serious about including the Republicans and Mr. Perot in the process." But Co-President of College Democrats Scott Sher, a College and Wharton junior, said he does not believe that the nation is necessarily heading toward a common goal. "The Republicans and Democrats are ideologically completely different," he said. "They always say 'Let's all back the president-elect.' It's rhetoric. It's a nice thing to do. I'm sure that George Bush will not embrace Democratic [ideas] and wholeheartedly endorse everything Bill Clinton does." Lustick said that people will have to be open-minded to Clinton's idea of change in order for the idea to work. He said that while many people say they do not trust Clinton it is because they do not know if he will follow through on his promises. "Those people are going to have to give him a chance," Lustick said. "If he delivers, he will [get] a lot of voters who were floating between the three candidates." Lustick summed up by paraphrasing Perot. "Government is not the problem," Lustick said. "[It] can be part of the solution. The government must be part of the solution."