The early 1990s, it seems, were even more eventful than they felt at the time. As Bill Clinton charted a moderate liberal course to the presidency in 1992 (and again in 1996), and the economy (stupid) appeared to boom, signposts sprang up to warn of the path ahead. Ross Perot, a candidate with an almost nonexistent platform but a knack for bottling populist frustration, captured the country’s imagination and mounted a spirited (if chaotic) challenge to Clinton and incumbent president George H.W. Bush , who fell woefully out of touch with public sentiment. Increasingly pugilistic voices from the right flank...