Another view of Stockdale
Re “Ship honors Navy hero Stockdale,” April 19
The Times mischaracterizes Vice Adm. James Stockdale’s 1992 debate performance. Stockdale’s famous opening line -- “Who am I? Why am I here?” -- did not “deep[en] [the] impression” that Stockdale was “unprepared and confused.” Rather, the opening line was well-received at the time and has generally been regarded as the high point of Stockdale’s otherwise poor performance.
Jim Lehrer, an old hand at presidential debates, noted as much in 1999 when he said that the line “got great publicity.” Fred Thompson riffed on the line on the campaign trail. Stockdale did perform poorly that October night, but he opened strong.
Aaron Zelinsky
New Haven, Conn.
The writer is editor of presidentialdebateblog.com.
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