Anybody remember Vice Adm Stockdale Perot's running mate?

[stray cat]

Like McCain he was a prisoner of war but he was clearly not ready to be president even with all his service.
In the vice presidential debate he commented on an exchange between Quayle and Gore:

"I think America is seeing right now the reason this nation is in gridlock. The trickle-downs and the tax-and-spends, or whatever you want to call them, are at swords point.

We can honor McCain's service but being a prisoner of war should not be a pass for critical analysis or the presidency.

[Barack_America]

Gridlock!

Great old SNL skit.

[LisaM]

1. I remember Phil Hartman's hilarious sendoff of him on SNL....

which was actually pretty close to the truth!

[JackORoses]

4. when Perot ditches him on the side of the road, and Stockdale chases him like the Terminator

That was Classic!

I sure miss those days when SNL was consistently funny.

[JackORoses]

2. GRIDLOCK!!!

[Overseas]

3. Where am I ? What am I doing here? -- debate comment

[11 Bravo]

6. I remember it as "Who am I? Why am I here?"

The questions were rhetorical in nature, a self-effacing way of pointing out that he was aware that he was hardly a household word. It was shameful how they were twisted and used against him.

[demokatgurrl]

13. I remember that too, will never forget it.

I was at the local Clinton campaign HQ volunteering and we all watched the debates together. That floored me.

[Occam Bandage]

17. They might have worked if not for his rambly, disjointed, halting delivery, or

his admission of being lost halfway through the debate. He sounded disoriented and confused throughout the entire affair.

[Gold Metal Flake]

18. His reading of the lines made it easy.

If he had read the lines as rhetorical questions, expressing the publics curiosity in and ignorance of who he was, in effect, he would have been OK. But instead he read them in mock confusion, as if he were expressing surprise at suddenly being thrust onstage. His own confusion in his opening statement to the American public suggested a general cluelessness that stuck to him like skunk spray.

[Doctor_J]

5. Yes, the only candidate on 92 with combat experience,

who was ridiculed because of the hearing loss he suffered in combat

[CreekDog]

7. to be fair, he was ridiculed for not following what was going on

and then saying that he had his hearing aid switched off (though it was not clear if this was a joke or if he was serious).

[dsc]

9. The elder Bush flew planes in WW2.

[Bucky]

11. Was it in combat, or did he lose his hearing from the abuse in the POW camp?

Of course being able to pay attention to and engage in a public discussion is kind of an important skill in public office. Why he'd turn his hearing aid off in the middle of the only VP debate is a good, if now academic, question.

[RoseMead]

8. Ok, here's the video :)

http://www.tv.com/video/73yWuwLrdsij72ZL_xw_3ULbIL4ZtOI3/joyride-with-perot?o=hulu&tag=video_recent;description;0

This is my very favorite SNL political skit of all time.

[deadmessengers]

10. A friend of mine actually served with Adm. Stockdale.

My friend Tom, a 22-year Navy guy, Vietnam vet, and SEAL, called Adm. Stockdale "the only person at flag rank that he'd ever met that he could call honorable." Now, I know that you don't know my buddy Tom, but that's some seriously high praise coming from this guy.

When you look at guys like Quayle and Cheney, it's obvious that America could have done a hell of a lot worse than to elect Stockdale as Vice President.

[ColbertWatcher]

12. Wrong.

He was more ready for service to his country.

Please read a little more about the man before you equate him to Old Chickenshit McVain.

My journal

[stray cat]

19. I respect his service but I would not have voted for him for president

Quayle either for that matter.

[wmbrew0206]

14. What Perot did to him was unfair

Perot needed a national security VP and he offered it to Stockdale, a MHO winner, and he couldn't turn it down. Perot shouldn't have offered it to him.

Stockdale was the SRO, senior responsible officer at the Hanoi Hilton and the NVA beat the crap out of him probably more than any one else. Stockdale is the only officer I have ever heard of who relieved himself of command (as the SRO in the HH) for a time because he was not longer physically able to handle the job. His number 2 officer took over for a while and Stockdale got a break from the beating and torture until he recovered enough to resume command.

I don't think Stockdale ever recovered total from his time and captivity and Perot basically picked him because he was one of the only MOH winners with flag rank who would take the job.

[baldguy]

15. "Trickle-downs" vs "tax-and-spends" is a RW lie

Everyone who knows how the economy works knew Reaganomics was a load of bullshit even in the '80s. But Stockdale, Perot and a whole bunch of others totally bought into it. Even today - 25 yrs after it failed - McCain & GOP are still pushing the myth.

[Occam Bandage]

16. Who was he? Why was he there?

:rofl:

[L0oniX]

20. "Why am I hear"?

:evilgrin: