Stockdale

Tuesday, James B. Stockdale struggled through every person's worst nightmare: He found himself on a public stage with almost nothing to say and no real idea what was going on. The only worse thing would be to wake up standing naked on a crowded city street.Mr. Stockdale was a three-star admiral in the Navy, a combat pilot with some 37 decorations, a prisoner of war in Vietnam who won the Medal of Honor for his courage under torture. He was a scholar at Stanford University working on Greek philosophy when picked by independent presidential candidate Ross Perot as his running mate.

Vice Adm. James B. Stockdale, a pilot who died in 2005 at age 81, is perhaps best known for his heroic turn as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. Shot down while on a mission Sept. 9, 1965, he landed in a small coastal village, where he was beaten by a mob. He spent the next 7 1/2 years in the Hoa Lo Prison, where he was kept in solitary confinement for four years, tortured and denied medical care. Yet Stockdale, who was the highest-ranking naval officer at the prison, managed to organize a system of communication and help buoy the spirits of his fellow prisoners.

Retired Vice Adm. James B. Stockdale handled questions from his audience at West Annapolis Elementary School yesterday far better than he answered questions during vice-presidential debates a year ago.Then again, these were questions from the third, fourth and fifth grade classes about his war experiences, his grandchildren and his hometown. His answers required no political posturing or rhetoric.Admiral Stockdale, a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War and Ross Perot's running mate in the 1992 presidential campaign, came to the school at the request of one of its parents to talk with the children about citizenship.

It's been seven years since retired Vice Adm. James B. Stockdale served -- like a fish out of water -- as Ross Perot's running mate in the 1992 presidential race.During a visit this week to his alma mater, the Naval Academy, the former test pilot and prisoner of war was more in his element, talking enthusiastically and poetically about how pain shaped his life.Stockdale spent three days lecturing to and having lunch with midshipmen who weren't even born when he was released from a North Vietnamese prison in 1973, after 7 1/2 years of torture.

WASHINGTON -- More than three decades before he'd ever consider running for vice president, Jim Stockdale wrestled with "The Problems of Good and Evil" for his master's degree at Stanford University and began acquiring the wisdom that would one day save his life.He found it in a gift from his instructor, a manual entitled "The Enchiridion," by the Stoic philosopher Epictetus. "This is the philosophy for the man who sees the world before him as a buzz saw," Professor Philip Rhinelander said in 1961.

SAN FRANCISCO -- James B. Stockdale couldn't quite hea over the telephone at times, fumbled a bit for words, then dropped the phone with a clatter onto the floor. Still, he carried on with aplomb in a conversation last week that included references to Greek philosophers and King Lear.In a year when the public has cried out for "real people," not polished politicians, there was a charming freshness to the manner in which Ross Perot's running mate conducted a telephone interview.It was something of a reprise of his TV debate performance earlier this month, when the folksy, snowy-haired Mr. Stockdale stammered, paused to put on his reading glasses and missed one question because his hearing aid was off. He was nonetheless applauded then as a kind of everyman thrust into the world of glib professional politics.

It's been seven years since retired Vice Adm. James B. Stockdale served -- like a fish out of water -- as Ross Perot's running mate in the 1992 presidential race.During a visit this week to his alma mater, the Naval Academy, the former test pilot and prisoner of war was more in his element, talking enthusiastically and poetically about how pain shaped his life.Stockdale spent three days lecturing to and having lunch with midshipmen who weren't even born when he was released from a North Vietnamese prison in 1973, after 7 1/2 years of torture.

Vice Adm. James B. Stockdale, a pilot who died in 2005 at age 81, is perhaps best known for his heroic turn as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. Shot down while on a mission Sept. 9, 1965, he landed in a small coastal village, where he was beaten by a mob. He spent the next 7 1/2 years in the Hoa Lo Prison, where he was kept in solitary confinement for four years, tortured and denied medical care. Yet Stockdale, who was the highest-ranking naval officer at the prison, managed to organize a system of communication and help buoy the spirits of his fellow prisoners.

ATLANTA -- Do we really have to have a vice president? After sitting through the vice presidential debate last night, I'm not sure America wouldn't be better off without one.The audience for the debate at Georgia Tech was told it should not laugh. But nobody told the journalists that. And so the press room, where hundreds of reporters sat and watched the debate on TV screens, was constantly rocked by guffaws.And can you blame us? About ten minutes into the debate I wanted to wrap my arms around James Stockdale and lead him off the stage so he wouldn't have to be exposed to any more of this.

Thanks to the spirit of voluntarism, Woodbine Recreation Council has been able to nurture many traditions that enrich the southwestern Carroll County community.One such tradition will continue Saturday when the council sponsors its 14th annual Community Easter Egg Hunt from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Salt Box Park, on Gillis Road between Mount Airy and Woodbine.Members of South Carroll High School's Key Club will provide assistance at the kids-oriented event. Other volunteers, many of whom help with Woodbine Recreation Council activities, will help with the annual egg hunt, said community coordinator Nancy Stockdale.

Thanks to the spirit of voluntarism, Woodbine Recreation Council has been able to nurture many traditions that enrich the southwestern Carroll County community.One such tradition will continue Saturday when the council sponsors its 14th annual Community Easter Egg Hunt from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Salt Box Park, on Gillis Road between Mount Airy and Woodbine.Members of South Carroll High School's Key Club will provide assistance at the kids-oriented event. Other volunteers, many of whom help with Woodbine Recreation Council activities, will help with the annual egg hunt, said community coordinator Nancy Stockdale.

Retired Vice Adm. James B. Stockdale handled questions from his audience at West Annapolis Elementary School yesterday far better than he answered questions during vice-presidential debates a year ago.Then again, these were questions from the third, fourth and fifth grade classes about his war experiences, his grandchildren and his hometown. His answers required no political posturing or rhetoric.Admiral Stockdale, a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War and Ross Perot's running mate in the 1992 presidential campaign, came to the school at the request of one of its parents to talk with the children about citizenship.

SAN FRANCISCO -- James B. Stockdale couldn't quite hea over the telephone at times, fumbled a bit for words, then dropped the phone with a clatter onto the floor. Still, he carried on with aplomb in a conversation last week that included references to Greek philosophers and King Lear.In a year when the public has cried out for "real people," not polished politicians, there was a charming freshness to the manner in which Ross Perot's running mate conducted a telephone interview.It was something of a reprise of his TV debate performance earlier this month, when the folksy, snowy-haired Mr. Stockdale stammered, paused to put on his reading glasses and missed one question because his hearing aid was off. He was nonetheless applauded then as a kind of everyman thrust into the world of glib professional politics.

ATLANTA -- It was a commentary on the continued low state of the vice presidency as a voting issue that, in the debate among the three 1992 aspirants for the job, there was virtually no discussion about their own qualifications to be president.Only one general question was asked about how each of them saw the role of the vice president and his own qualifications, and the responses were routine and unrevealing.Vice President Dan Quayle recited how he stepped in to oversee the American response to the 1989 coup in the Philippines when President Bush was traveling to Malta for a summit meeting, passing on a recommendation to Bush, who decided what to do. Quayle modestly called it "an example of where I was tested under fire and in a crisis."

Tuesday, James B. Stockdale struggled through every person's worst nightmare: He found himself on a public stage with almost nothing to say and no real idea what was going on. The only worse thing would be to wake up standing naked on a crowded city street.Mr. Stockdale was a three-star admiral in the Navy, a combat pilot with some 37 decorations, a prisoner of war in Vietnam who won the Medal of Honor for his courage under torture. He was a scholar at Stanford University working on Greek philosophy when picked by independent presidential candidate Ross Perot as his running mate.

ATLANTA -- Do we really have to have a vice president? After sitting through the vice presidential debate last night, I'm not sure America wouldn't be better off without one.The audience for the debate at Georgia Tech was told it should not laugh. But nobody told the journalists that. And so the press room, where hundreds of reporters sat and watched the debate on TV screens, was constantly rocked by guffaws.And can you blame us? About ten minutes into the debate I wanted to wrap my arms around James Stockdale and lead him off the stage so he wouldn't have to be exposed to any more of this.

ATLANTA -- It was a commentary on the continued low state of the vice presidency as a voting issue that, in the debate among the three 1992 aspirants for the job, there was virtually no discussion about their own qualifications to be president.Only one general question was asked about how each of them saw the role of the vice president and his own qualifications, and the responses were routine and unrevealing.Vice President Dan Quayle recited how he stepped in to oversee the American response to the 1989 coup in the Philippines when President Bush was traveling to Malta for a summit meeting, passing on a recommendation to Bush, who decided what to do. Quayle modestly called it "an example of where I was tested under fire and in a crisis."

to discuss tradeThe U.S. Naval Academy's 33rd annual Invitational Debate Tournament is scheduled for Feb. 1 through 3. More than 135 students from 22 colleges and universities will debate whether the United States should substantially change its economic trade policiestoward the countries of the Pacific rim, including Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.The tournament offers competition on three levels of experience -- varsity, junior varsity and novice. Naval Academy debaters have been ranked fifth overall by the American Debate Association.

ATLANTA -- The three candidates for vice president meet here tonight in a 90-minute nationally televised debate in which most of the political pressure is centered on incumbent Vice President Dan Quayle.Mr. Quayle, Democratic vice presidential nominee Al Gore and retired Adm. James Stockdale, the running mate of independent presidential candidate Ross Perot, will confront one another for 90 minutes at 7 p.m. in a theater at Georgia Tech University.The debate will give both Senator Gore and especially Mr. Stockdale a national audience far beyond anything they have experienced in the past.

WASHINGTON -- More than three decades before he'd ever consider running for vice president, Jim Stockdale wrestled with "The Problems of Good and Evil" for his master's degree at Stanford University and began acquiring the wisdom that would one day save his life.He found it in a gift from his instructor, a manual entitled "The Enchiridion," by the Stoic philosopher Epictetus. "This is the philosophy for the man who sees the world before him as a buzz saw," Professor Philip Rhinelander said in 1961.