photo by Jose Moreno jmorenopr.com
Admiral James Stockdale, Ross Perot’s running mate in 1992, unintentionally sabotaged his political career when his first words in a televised vice-presidential debate—against Al Gore and Dan Quayle—were, “Who am I? Why am I here?”
Stockdale, a Vietnam War hero turned writer and philosophy lecturer, was simply trying to introduce himself, but American viewers, accustomed to far more flowery, polished speech from candidates, were uncomfortable with his direct language.
And as the debate proceeded, it quickly became evident that Stockdale hadn’t come prepared with answers to anticipated questions. Instead, he spoke honestly, from the heart. He took long pauses to think, and even asked the moderator to repeat one question because his hearing aid had somehow been turned off.
I was twenty-eight years old in 1992, and no fan of Ross Perot. (I voted for Clinton and Gore.) But Stockdale—who died in 2005— was undeniably unique and admirable. Both Gore and Quayle expounded loquaciously on every issue—as though they’d been rehearsing for weeks—so when Stockdale fired off his view on abortion in five seconds flat—I believe that a woman owns her body and what she does with it is her own business, period.—he stunned everyone, even the moderator. Watching him, I got the sense that he was the type of person our Founding Fathers imagined when they penned the Constitution: a human being who could think for himself, and was willing to defend and explain his beliefs, despite the obvious fact that he wasn’t a glib talker.
But Stockdale’s authenticity made him a laughing stock in the media. He was portrayed as weak, elderly, and perhaps a bit deranged. Sadly, ever since the invention of television, Americans have come to expect their representatives in Washington to look good on camera and speak like matinee idols—not quirky character actors.
This phenomenon has brought us to a point where some media pundits now consider Donald Trump “presidential” because he was able to string together a series of coherent words for about an hour last week. Which I guess makes sense, as the guy typically speaks with about as much grace and reassurance as my dog barking out the window at the mail carrier. And yet, Trump’s speech the other night was barely passable. I admit to not watching it live, but did read the entire text, parts of which—especially the section when he called out Carryn Owens, the widow of U.S. Navy Seal William "Ryan" Owens—were downright upsetting. Other parts sounded like lyrics to a pop song, or bad romantic poetry.
We just need the courage to share the dreams that fill our hearts.
The bravery to express the hopes that stir our souls.
And the confidence to turn those hopes and dreams to action.
Seriously? Are we supposed to believe those words were heartfelt? Considering that they came from a man who’s appointed a seemingly endless series of racists, xenophobes, and anti-environmentalists to his Cabinet? A man who continues to ban refugees from entering the United States? A man who demeans women, disregards the rights of transgender people, and spends ridiculous amounts of time tweeting bizarre things and reminding us of his “huge” victory in November?
So how the hell does reading a speech he obviously didn’t write suddenly make Trump seem like a competent leader? Because Americans are once again allowing themselves to be manipulated by pretty words. Or perhaps I should say that Trump has starved us of decent words for so long that people are now savoring the few he doled out the other night as if they were the Gettysburg Address.
But the President’s not the only Washington leader guilty of bamboozling Americans with speeches. Far from it. Look at our senators and representatives in Congress toeing the party line, time and time again. But that’s not what they promised their constituents when they ran for office. No; they promised to use their knowledge, intelligence, and passion to make good decisions for the country. Once elected, though, most of them just took up the game of partisan politics. It’s extremely disheartening. How many phone calls, letters, emails, visits, and petitions from citizens opposing the appointments of Jeff Sessions, Betsy DeVos, and Rex Tillerson did Republicans in D.C. receive? And yet, in the end, how many of them had the guts to vote against those appointments? I believe the grand total was two. Two Republican senators voted against DeVos.
Likewise, how many Americans have implored Congress to demand the release of Trump’s taxes, and yet, when the House was polled on whether the president should be forced to disclose them, not one Republican member said “yes.” Are we actually supposed to believe that every single House Republican thinks it’s a good idea to keep Trump’s taxes private? And that the leader of the United States shouldn’t have to come clean about his potential conflicts of interest in other countries?
All I can say is that I sure hope things change soon, because we’re now faced with a scary new national healthcare bill, another temporary travel ban involving six Muslim majority nations, a temporary suspension of our Refugee Admission Program, proposed cuts to Planned Parenthood, the revocation of some federal rights for transgender people, and so much more. It’s not an exaggeration to say that I cannot keep up with the shocking stream of news coming out of Washington each day.
But Washington is also full of intelligent, caring individuals who have the potential to work together and bring about positive change. They’ve just got to be willing to put their personal interests and party loyalties aside. Because the issues facing the United States aren’t simple, and much consideration and deep thought will be necessary if we want to make real progress.
Put another way, perhaps some of our nation’s leaders could benefit from asking themselves those same questions Admiral Stockdale asked at the start of the 1992 vice-presidential debate: Who am I? Why am I here?
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Mary Rowen often writes about women of various ages growing up and figuring out what they want from this world. Raised in the Massachusetts Merrimack Valley, she graduated from Providence College, and has worked as a teacher, marketing writer, and political canvasser. She lives in the Boston area with her husband, two teenage children, dog and cats. Her blog can be found at: http://www.maryrowen.com
Mary's two current novels, Leaving the Beach and Living by Ear are available on Amazon in paperback only, and are hoping to find a new publisher soon. Her forthcoming novel, tentatively titled It Doesn’t Have To Be That Way is due out in 2017 or 2018.