Stockdale was Ross Perot's VP candidate in 1992. He acted humbly and was not cashing in his war hero background. He had hearing loss from beatings in prison, so he was portrayed as senile and he became a joke for the public.
Running for a position is a fight for power by seducing the public, not an discussion. He refused to use the ammo he had and fight.
Possibly not the optimal choice, but hey: "Die with your boots on."
I thought Stockdale was a bad choice because of age and he just seemed distant and unengaged. If that's because of the hearing loss, I don't know. I doubt Seneca was a humble, bystander.
Disclaimer: I voted for Perot/Stockdale.
Sounds like the failure of a political culture. Politics shouldn't have PR people.
Why should politics not have people whose entire job is to manage public relations?
Are you saying - he should have played the game more, but you respect that he didn't? or are you saying he should have known the game that he was playing and thus played it better?
positive vs. normative statements.
positive: opinion about what is, the state of the world.
normative: what ought to be. a value judgment.
I picked to play that game, if the rules are whatever playing that game are using, then if I am frustrated by the rules, am I not the one who should look in the mirror and say “hmm, maybe I shouldn’t play this specific game”