History UsefulNotes / DanQuayle

* His most infamous gaffe was when he was judging a spelling bee and spelled the word "potatoe". More embarrassingly, the child initially gave the right spelling before Quayle decided to "correct" it. Quayle later explained that he had felt uneasy but that it was spelled incorrectly on the answer card a teacher had given him, and he was bound to follow it.[[note]]As the Vice President, one would think that a ''teacher'' misspelling the word would have raised alarm bells about the state of the education system in his country, but nope.[[/note]] Nobody cared, let alone believed him, and he quickly became forever known as the man who spelled it "potatoe".

* In ''Series/SexAndTheCity'', Samantha mentions that George Bush and Quayle remind her of Characters/Batman and Characters/Robin.

Quayle more or less disappeared from the public eye after Bush Sr. lost reelection in 1992. He declined to run for president in 1996 because of illness, and while he briefly sought the Republican nomination in 2000, he soon withdrew. But he turned up unexpectedly in 2021, when it was revealed that outgoing Vice President UsefulNotes/MikePence (also from Indiana) had asked his predecessor Quayle whether the VP had the power to refuse to certify the 2020 election results (as outgoing President UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump insisted he did), and Quayle told him no -- in no uncertain terms. Given that this helped avoid a constitutional crisis, pundits started questioning whether they had to thank this man for saving American democracy.

* He commented that ''Series/MurphyBrown'' was disreputable because of its positive portrayal of a professional woman who chose to be a single mother. He took a lot of heat for the implication that single motherhood was ''bad'' -- and that it was, to use his words, "just another 'lifestyle choice'", implying that it was a consequence of female promiscuity. Creator/CandaceBergen, who played Murphy Brown, understood it differently and agreed with Quayle on one key point: that it was wrong to dismiss fathers. The series itself responded with an episode in which Quayle's comment happened InUniverse, showing Murphy herself and several real-life single parents dealing with the criticism. It generally took the high road -- up until the very end, when it showed a dump truck backing up to Quayle's official residence and dumping a load of [[MemeticMutation potatoes]].

-->"What a waste it is to lose one's mind. Or t not have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is."

James Danforth "Dan" Quayle (born February 4, 1947) is an American politician who was the otherwise [[VicePresidentWho forgettable vice president]] under UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush. He was a little-known senator from Indiana before Bush Sr. tapped him as his running mate in 1988, and he became a non-entity catapulted into the spotlight. He promptly used that spotlight to make several {{malaprop|er}}isms and misinformed remarks, giving him a reputation for [[OpenMouthInsertFoot verbal gaffes]] that [[NeverLiveItDown he could never shake]]. The most common caricature of him is as a political [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Ralph Wiggum]].

* NeverLiveItDown: During the four-plus years between being named as UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush's running mate to the end of his time as Vice President, at least three of his above-listed gaffes will almost always be mentioned when he's referenced in the media: "You're no Jack Kennedy", the "''Series/MurphyBrown'' speech", and "[[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking potatoe]]".

* His first gaffe on the national stage took place in a 1988 debate against his opposite number, Democratic VP candidate Lloyd Bentsen. Quayle was asked whether his age would be a factor -- at 41 years old, he would be a remarkably young vice president. Quayle responded that it wasn't an issue in 1960, when UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy won at age 43 despite being the youngest presidential candidate in American history at the time (and noted that both he and Kennedy had first entered Congress at age 29). Bentsen did not take kindly to this no-name comparing himself to frigging JFK, and he gave [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech this famous retort]]:

* His most infamous gaffe was when he was judging a spelling bee and spelled the word "potatoe". More embarrassingly, the child initially gave the right spelling before Quayle decided to "correct" it. Quayle later explained that he knew it was wrong but that it was spelled incorrectly on the answer card a teacher had given him, and he was bound to follow it.[[note]]As the Vice President, one would think that a ''teacher'' misspelling the word would have raised alarm bells about the state of the education system in his country, but nope.[[/note]] Nobody cared, and he quickly became forever known as the man who spelled it "potatoe".

Quayle soon became the butt of many jokes on the comedy circuit in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It led to a few "new" quotes being [[BeamMeUpScotty mistakenly thought to have been said by the real Quayle]].[[labelnote:For example]]"I was recently on a tour of Latin America, and the only regret I have is that I didn't study Latin harder in school so I could converse with those people."[[/labelnote]] Even his fellow politicians got in on the act, with one of the meanest coming from then-Senator UsefulNotes/JohnKerry: "If Bush is shot, the Secret Service has orders to shoot Quayle."[[note]]It's OlderThanTheyThink as a joke; it goes back as far as UsefulNotes/RichardNixon's first vice president, UsefulNotes/SpiroAgnew (suggesting that his resignation ''before'' the Watergate scandal, leaving UsefulNotes/GeraldFord as VP when Nixon resigned, was a major bullet dodged). They also said this about UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush's VP, Creator/DickCheney, but more on the basis that they feared he would be a PresidentEvil.[[/note]] He would later become the main point of comparison when future vice-presidential candidates turned up with sparse resumés and a tendency for gaffes, most notably UsefulNotes/JohnMcCain's 2008 running mate UsefulNotes/SarahPalin. (Palin was ''such'' a prolific {{malaproper}} that conservative pundit David Frum thought such a comparison was [[InsultToRocks unfair to Quayle]].)

James Danforth "Dan" Quayle (born February 4, 1947) is an American politician who was the otherwise [[VicePresidentWho forgettable vice president]] under the UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush. He was a little-known senator from Indiana before Bush Sr. tapped him as his running mate in 1988, and he became a non-entity catapulted into the spotlight. He promptly used that spotlight to make several {{malaprop|er}}isms and misinformed remarks, giving him a reputation for [[OpenMouthInsertFoot verbal gaffes]] that [[NeverLiveItDown he could never shake]]. The most common caricature of him is as a political [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Ralph Wiggum]].

-->-- Reporter in a newspaper article for the UsefulNotes/NewOrleans ''Times Picayune''

A list of his most (in)famous quotes include:

* His first gaffe on the national stage took place in a 1988 debate against his opposite number, Democratic VP candidate Lloyd Bentsen. Quayle was asked whether his age would be a factor -- at 41 years old, he would be a remarkably young vice president. Quayle responded that it wasn't an issue in 1960, when UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy won at age 43 despite being the youngest presidential candidate in American history at the time. Bentsen did not take kindly to this no-name comparing himself to frigging JFK, and he gave [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech this famous retort]]:
-->'''Bentsen:''' Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. [[PretenderDiss Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy]].
* His most infamous gaffe was when he was judging a spelling bee and spelled the word "potatoe". More embarrassingly, the child initially gave the right spelling before Quayle decided to "correct" it. Quayle later explained that he knew it was wrong but that it was spelled incorrectly on the answer card a teacher had given him, and he was bound to follow it[[note]]As the Vice President, one would think that a ''teacher'' misspelling the word should raise alarm bells about the state of the education system in his country, but nope[[/note]]. Nobody cared, and he quickly became forever known as the man who spelled it "potatoe".

* He commented that ''Series/MurphyBrown'' was disreputable because of its positive portrayal of a professional woman who chose to be a single mother. He took a lot of heat for the implication that single motherhood was ''bad'' -- and that it was, to use his words, "just another 'lifestyle choice'", implying that it was a consequence of female promiscuity. Candace Bergen, who played Murphy Brown, understood it differently and agreed with Quayle on one key point: that it was wrong to dismiss fathers. The series itself responded with an episode in which Quayle's comment happened InUniverse, showing Murphy herself and several real-life single parents dealing with the criticism. It generally took the high road -- up until the very end, when it showed a dump truck backing up to Quayle's official residence and dumping a load of [[MemeticMutation potatoes]].

Quayle soon became the butt of many jokes on the comedy circuit in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It led to a few "new" quotes being [[BeamMeUpScotty mistakenly thought to have been said by the real Quayle]][[labelnote:for example]]"I was recently on a tour of Latin America, and the only regret I have is that I didn't study Latin harder in school so I could converse with those people."[[/labelnote]]. Even his fellow politicians got in on the act, with one of the meanest coming from then-Senator UsefulNotes/JohnKerry: if Bush is shot, the Secret Service has orders to shoot Quayle.[[note]]It's not a particularly new joke; it goes back as far as UsefulNotes/RichardNixon's first Vice President Spiro Agnew (suggesting that his resignation ''before'' the Watergate scandal, leaving UsefulNotes/GeraldFord as VP when Nixon resigned, was a major bullet dodged). They also said this about UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush's VP Dick Cheney, but more on the basis that he would be a PresidentEvil.[[/note]] He would later become the main comparable when future Vice Presidential candidates turned up with a sparse resume and a tendency for gaffes, most notably UsefulNotes/JohnMcCain's 2008 running mate UsefulNotes/SarahPalin. (Palin was ''such'' a prolific {{malaproper}} that conservative pundit David Frum thought such a comparison was [[InsultToRocks unfair to Quayle]].)

Quayle more or less disappeared from the public eye after Bush Sr. lost reelection in 1992. He declined to run for president in 1996 because of illness, and while he briefly sought the Republican nomination in 2000, he soon withdrew. But he turned up unexpectedly in 2021, when it was revealed that outgoing Vice President UsefulNotes/MikePence (also from Indiana) had asked his predecessor Quayle whether the VP had the power to refuse to certify the 2020 election results (as UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump insisted he did), and Quayle told him no -- in no uncertain terms. Given that this helped avoid a constitutional crisis, pundits started questioning whether they had to thank this man for saving American democracy.

* NeverLiveItDown: During the four-plus years between being named as UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush's running mate to the end of his time as Vice-President, at least three of his above-listed gaffes will almost always be mentioned when he's referenced in the media: "You're no Jack Kennedy", the "''Series/MurphyBrown'' speech", and "[[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking potatoe]]".
* PreppyName: Quayle's full name is James Danforth Quayle, and when he first became George H.W. Bush's running mate, many in the media assumed he came from a rich family because of his name[[note]]he ''kind of'' did -- his maternal grandfather Eugene Pulliam was a newspaper magnate -- but by the time Quayle became VP, his net worth was just under $1 million[[/note]]. CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather had a habit of calling him "James Danforth Quayle III". Quayle's autobiography mentions that he was named after [[DeadGuyJunior a fraternity brother of his father]] who was killed in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'', he is listed as the ''worst leader in human history.'' Worse than [=Æ=]thelred the Unready, UsefulNotes/WarrenHarding and ''UsefulNotes/{{Nero}}''. It's a RunningGag; the first ''Civilization'' game came out in 1991, when Quayle was still VP, and they've kept the joke running ever sense. ''Civ 4'' also uses a quote of his for the technology Future Tech: "The future will be better tomorrow."
* The ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' episode "Washingtoons" had Buster and Babs Bunny seek his help to prevent the MoralGuardian villain from wiping their "toonniness". Quayle is portrayed as StupidGood, running around his room giddily yelling, "Buster and Babs are in my room!" No mention of ''Series/MurphyBrown'' or potatoes, at least.

* One of the singles on Music/OingoBoingo's final album (as Boingo, which is also the name of the album) is "Insanity," an eight-minute TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to the world, complete with an absolutely ''brutal'' snipe at Quayle (especially poignant, as Boingo was released only four months after he had left office):

* His most infamous gaffe was when he was judging a spelling bee and spelled the word "[[YouMakeMeSic potatoe]]". More embarrassingly, the child initially gave the right spelling before Quayle decided to "correct" it. Quayle later explained that he knew it was wrong but that it was spelled incorrectly on the answer card a teacher had given him, and he was bound to follow it[[note]]As the Vice President, one would think that a ''teacher'' misspelling the word should raise alarm bells about the state of the education system in his country, but nope[[/note]]. Nobody cared, and he quickly became forever known as the man who spelled it "potatoe".

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* One of his most contested quotes was:
-->"UsefulNotes/{{Mars}} is essentially in the same orbit [as Earth]... Mars is somewhat the same distance from the Sun, which is very important. We have seen pictures where there are canals, we believe, and water. If there is water, that means there is oxygen. If oxygen, that means we can breathe."
::This is often thought of as another one of his gaffes, this time [[ArtisticLicenseSpace scientific]]. But a lot of what he said here is a garbled recitation of scientific speculation; there ''is'' technically water on Mars (it's just frozen in the permafrost), people ''did'' think there were "canals" on the Martian surface (albeit a long time ago), and Mars ''is'' technically within the Sun's habitable zone (similar to Earth), meaning liquid water could theoretically exist there. It would just take a hell of a lot of work to make the electrolysis to liberate the oxygen atoms in the water to create a breathable oxygen supply. He's a politician; who can expect him to know about science? Oh, wait, he was the chairman of the National Space Council. Sigh.

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