3 ms·

He dropped out of the race to get away from bad press, the establishment players kinda forced him out with dirt-digging. I think he thought it would help, but

He dropped out of the race to get away from bad press, the establishment players kinda forced him out with dirt-digging. I think he thought it would help, but when he re-entered he was worse off. I also remember him doing well in the debates, but his VP pick, Admiral Stockdale, badly flubbed the VP debate.

libria 7y ago
Yeah, he was pretty disconnected. You're not making the grade if even Dan Quayle is chuckling at you.
JasonFruit 7y ago
For a long time after that I only remembered Admiral Stockdale as the guy who had his hearing aid shut off during the debate. I didn't realize his history — he was a real intellectual, with a love of Stoic philosophy, but he determined on the active life of a Naval Aviator. He ejected over North Vietnam and was captured and subjected to torture. To avoid being used for propaganda, he disfigured himself by cutting his scalp with a razor and beating his face with a chair. When he gained information that could be used to reveal others' attempts to subvert the North Vietnamese, he slit his wrists to avoid being tortured into a confession. He conducted himself heroically in a war that was anything but, and earned the respect of his fellow-prisoners and his captors, and he gives credit to the philosophy of Epictetus, especially as contained in his Enchiridion. (And to be fair to Stockdale, he only was informed of the debate one week in advance. He was not a skilled debater, though, to be sure.)
- cobbzilla 7y ago
  Me too. At the time, the SNL parody was how I remember it. Only later did I learn what an amazing hero, intellectual and person Stockdale was. Looking back, I guess the buck stops with Perot, he should certainly have given his VP more advance notice, and maybe some coaching in public speaking, TV, PR.

3 ms·

He dropped out of the race to get away from bad press, the establishment players kinda forced him out with dirt-digging. I think he thought it would help, but

by cobbzilla 7y ago

libria 7y ago
Yeah, he was pretty disconnected. You're not making the grade if even Dan Quayle is chuckling at you.
JasonFruit 7y ago
For a long time after that I only remembered Admiral Stockdale as the guy who had his hearing aid shut off during the debate. I didn't realize his history — he was a real intellectual, with a love of Stoic philosophy, but he determined on the active life of a Naval Aviator. He ejected over North Vietnam and was captured and subjected to torture. To avoid being used for propaganda, he disfigured himself by cutting his scalp with a razor and beating his face with a chair. When he gained information that could be used to reveal others' attempts to subvert the North Vietnamese, he slit his wrists to avoid being tortured into a confession. He conducted himself heroically in a war that was anything but, and earned the respect of his fellow-prisoners and his captors, and he gives credit to the philosophy of Epictetus, especially as contained in his Enchiridion. (And to be fair to Stockdale, he only was informed of the debate one week in advance. He was not a skilled debater, though, to be sure.)
- cobbzilla 7y ago
  Me too. At the time, the SNL parody was how I remember it. Only later did I learn what an amazing hero, intellectual and person Stockdale was. Looking back, I guess the buck stops with Perot, he should certainly have given his VP more advance notice, and maybe some coaching in public speaking, TV, PR.