Thus famously, or infamously, said Admiral James Stockdale during a vice
presidential debate in 1992. Stockdale had been chosen by Ross Perot, the
independent presidential candidate, to run against George Bush the first and
Dan Quayle during that year's presidential campaign. Many analysts at the time,
blamed Perot for taking enough conservative votes away from Bush and giving
Bill Clinton the victory in that year's elections. Whether that was in fact
correct or not, we'll never know, but undeniably Clinton ended up winning the
presidency not with a majority but with a simple plurality.
