Q
Quayle, Dan
Identification Vice president of the United States,
1989-1993
Born February 4, 1947; Indianapolis, Indiana
Though Quayle was an intelligent and capable politician,
his single term as vice president is unfortunately best re-
membered for his verbal malapropisms and the huge
amount of scorn and ridicule heaped upon him by the me-
dia and political adversaries.
Dan Quayle was born into a wealthy family and en-
joyed a privileged lifestyle. He graduated from
DePauw University and Indiana University School of
Law—Indianapolis. A conservative by inclination,
he was recruited by the Republican Party, and he
sought a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives
from the Fourth District of Indiana. He won handily
in 1976 and was reelected in a landslide in 1978. In
1980, at the age of thirty-three, he won a seat in the
Senate and was easily elected to a second term in
1986.
As a senator, Quayle was reliably conservative and
unfailingly ingratiating. In 1988, George H. W.
Bush, the Republican presidential candidate, sur-
prised the nation by choosing Quayle to be his run-
ning mate. Quayle’s nomination was met with a wave
of derision and opposition. His giddy enthusiasm
about being chosen for the nomination seemed like
immature behavior to many observers. In a debate
between rival vice presidential nominees, Democrat
Lloyd Bentsen delivered a memorable retort to
Quayle’s comparison of himself to John F. Kennedy
in terms of congressional experience, stating that
Quayle was “no John Kennedy.” Despite Quayle’s
campaign mistakes and the unrelenting criticism by
the media, the Bush-Quayle team won the election,
and Quayle became the forty-fourth vice president
of the United States.
As vice president, he competently chaired the Na-
tional Space Council and the Council on Competi-
tiveness and occasionally presided over the Senate,
but the attacks and derision continued, fueled by his
ongoing verbal gaffes, such as “the future will be
better tomorrow.” After a brief period of high poll
ratings due to the Gulf War, the economy failed to
flourish, and President Bush disastrously broke an
often repeated campaign promise by raising taxes.
When the Bush-Quayle team sought reelection in
1992, they were soundly defeated.Impact While vice president, Quayle had chided
fictional television character Murphy Brown for giv-
ing birth out of wedlock and thus setting a bad moral
example. Although Quayle was criticized for thesePresident George H. W. Bush, left, and Vice President Dan Quayle
pose at the White House in 1989.(NARA)