Just for thought -- a few years ago I looked at the historical vote for president, in particular, the percentage of the Voting Age Population candidate's receive.
IIRC, historically (going back to McGovern) dem presidential candidates receive between 23%-24% of the Voting Age Population. It does not vary widely and is virtually a straight line.
In contrast, the GOP percentage ranges from about 21% to 28%. That is, after Watergate and the two times Perot ran, the GOP got about 21%. Every other time (except 2000) the GOP got about 27%-28%.
So, IMHO, Perot probably cost Clinton about 1% of the VAP (5% of the dem's usual vote), while he cost Bush I and Dole about 7% of the VAP (25% of the usual GOP vote).
But naturally, the media and the dems have spun the story that Perot cost both equally.
The reason the % VAP in 2000 was so close was because the Clintons had given Gore CA on a silver platter. I believe much of the difference in vote totals between Bush II and Gore is from the large disparity in CA.
By the way, I've been looking for those % VAP figures for awhile, but have been unable to find them again. If any of y'all find those figures, please give me a ping, thanks.