Nick, sometimes in life you have to be assertive otherwise people will take advantage of you. So long as you know when it's appropriate to be assertive I doubt anyone that matters to you will think any less of you for standing up for what you believe is right. I for one am proud of what you've done!
Regarding Perot, I think the Larry King debate with Al Gore played a large role in dooming his candidacy. Also, all those charts, while accurate, were too confusing for the average idiot who votes. I know this sounds conceited, but we here at GA are on the higher end of the intelligence scale and could appreciate Perot's methods.