That famous phrase from George H.W. Bush came as he accepted his party's presidential nomination at the Republican National Committee convention in 1988. At the time, it was exactly the red meat Republicans were looking for. But campaigning and governing are two very different things. Bush was elected as the nation was slipping into a recession. When confronted with a growing national deficit, he had to find a source of revenue. That revenue came in the way of raising taxes, a move that especially rankled members of the GOP and became an issue for Democrats to run on in 1992. Democrat Bill Clinton was swept into the White House.
With 42% of the vote.
Pushing forward to 2009, another president may have trekked onto the same territory.