Delegates from around the nation named Gov. Bill Clinton of Arkansas their nominee for President late Wednesday night at the Democratic National Convention in New York City.
The vote had been a foregone conclusion since Gov. Clinton's win in the spring primaries. But one unexpected curve appeared yesterday when Ross Perot, an undeclared independent candidate, announced in Dallas that he was abandoning his grass-roots presidential bid.
Mr. Perot, who showed impressive strength in early polls, had seen his popularity slip in recent weeks after what he said were Republican-inspired attack campaigns.
A top campaign adviser, Edward J. Rollins, quit Wednesday, complaining that the candidate was unwilling to listen to advice.
Wednesday's convention vote came after impassioned speeches from the party's liberal wing, including one from Gov. Mario M. Cuomo of New York.
Gov. Cuomo blasted 12 years of "failed" Republican supply-side economic policy, which he blamed for the nation's $400 billion deficit and $4 trillion national debt. He urged Democrats to reject economic policy that favors the rich, and stick instead to their "tradition of inclusion" and "solemn obligation to create opportunity for all our people."
Gov. Clinton and the Democrats' vice presidential nominee, Sen. Albert Gore Jr. of Tennessee, were slated to deliver their acceptance speeches last night.
