[Hoot Gibson]

The George H. W. Bush "Read my lips. No new taxes." line was not a blunder, but letting Bob Dole convince him to agree to a tax hike after he promised not to raise taxes was a huge blunder. I believe that it cost him the election. It's hard to imagine in today's environment that one broken promise could cost a candidate the presidency, but Bush spent the entire campaign on the defensive. IIRC, Bush's job approval rating was over 80 percent at one point.