"WHO AM I? WHY AM I HERE?"

Unless your political memory is shorter than Robert Reich, you'll remember the line above as the opening statement of Admiral James Stockdale, Ross Perot's ill-fated running mate, at the 1992 Vice Presidential debate. Stockdale took his licks for that performance, but he gets a wide berth on the Web. Webmaster Tim King astutely observes that "if he had said the same words with different vocal inflections, he could've been named a hero." You can judge for yourself by reading his opening remarks yourself at

http://www.jtse.com/timk/stockdale.html

If you want more perspective--and have lots of time--you can read the entire text of the debate at

http://www.debates.org/vp10-92.htm

after which you'll almost be forced to conclude that the admiral made as much sense (OK, maybe just a little less sense) than his combatants. And if you want to find out why Perot chose him in the first place, you can read the story of his medal-of-honor-winning, seven-year Vietnam War imprisonment at

http://www.skyhawk.org/photo.htm#STOCKDALE

http://www.jtse.com/timk/stockdale.html

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Added: 1-13-98
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