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Member Number: 11469
J. Danforth Quayle (born 1947) became the second-youngest member of Congress in history when he was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1976. He was the first person from the "baby boom" generation to win a spot on a national ticket and was the fifth youngest vice president ever elected in the United States.
Dan Quayle was born in Indianapolis on February 4, 1947. He was the son of James C. and Corinne Quayle and the grandson of Eugene Pulliam, the founder of Central Newspapers Inc., a national chain of conservative papers. Quayle received his secondary education in the publics schools of Huntington, Indiana, his hometown. In 1969 Quayle graduated from DePauw University, where he was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He attended law school at night at Indiana University, Indianapolis, and graduated in 1974. He was admitted to the Indiana Bar that same year. In 1972 Quayle married Marilyn Tucker, a fellow law student at Indiana University. The Quayles had three children - Tucker Danforth, Benjamin Eugene, and Mary Corinne.
After receiving his education, Quayle had very few jobs before running for public office. From 1969 to 1975, during law school, Quayle was a member of the Indiana National Guard. Also during law school he held several appointed positions in the Indiana state government. Afterwards, he worked as an associate publisher for the Huntington Herald press, a family owned paper, and founded Quayle and Quayle, a law office, with his wife. In 1976, with no political experience, he ran as a conservative Republican against Edward Roush, an eight-term incumbent Democrat, for a seat in the House of Representatives and won, becoming the second youngest representative in history. Quayle proved himself to be consistently conservative on all significant votes, enough so that the National Conservative Political Action Committee helped him in his bid for reelection, as they had in 1976. Much was made of Quayle's poor attendance record in the House during the 1978 campaign, but the bad press did not affect his popularity and he won by an overwhelming majority.
In 1980 Quayle ran for a seat in the Senate against another incumbent Democrat. This time his opponent was 18-year incumbent Birch Bayh, whom he also defeated. Quayle had no difficulty winning reelection to the Senate in 1986. The term was to last until 1993 but his selection as the Republican Party's vice presidential candidate, and subsequent election, resulted in his resignation. In the Senate Quayle had again voted conservatively, especially in areas related to national defense. However, his votes did not always fall along party lines. The most significant example of his independence from the right was the Job Training Partnership Act of 1986, which he introduced with Senator Edward Kennedy in 1982. His bipartisan efforts sometimes put him at odds with the Reagan administration, but he was not concerned with the possible alienation of the administration.
On August 18, 1988, in New Orleans, George Bush announced that his running mate for the presidency would be Dan Quayle. The public, the media, and both conservative and liberal politicians were caught off-guard by Bush's selection. Outside of Indiana very few people had heard of Dan Quayle. The primary reasons that Bush selected Quayle as a running mate were Quayle's conservative reputation, his Midwest origin, his relative lack of prominence, and no doubt his young age and good looks.
However, Quayle also brought undesirable scrutiny from the media. During his speech at the GOP national convention Quayle made reference to his time spent in the Indiana National Guard during the Vietnam conflict, which made people wonder if he was dodging the draft. This investigation revealed that Quayle might have used his connections through family-owned papers to gain admittance to the Guard. The media then examined almost every facet of his life and career. Among the issues brought into question were Quayle's admission to the Guard and to law school (without the usual requirements) and his privileged lifestyle. These facts, compounded by several poorly handled speaking engagements, led some members of the GOP to express reservations about Quayle's appointment, but Bush never expressed any thoughts about replacing him. Despite the excessively negative media coverage the George Bush/ Dan Quayle ticket did very well, overwhelming the Michael Dukakis/Lloyd Bentsen ticket at the polls.
Once elected, Quayle was given several jobs by the president, most notably a trip to several South American countries to gather information about the war on drugs. After a short time, the media became less interested in the spectacle of Dan Quayle and he was left alone to perform his duties as the vice president. After two years of his first term in that office, many conservatives hailed Quayle as an excellent vice president and as a conservative who remains non-compromising in his political orientation.
Yet Quayle did not return to the White House after the 1992 election, as Bill Clinton's victory forced Bush out of office. Even though Quayle would no longer be the Vice President, his stint in politics and the public eye was not yet over. In 1994, he published a book entitled Standing Firm. Quayle announced in 1995 that he would not seek election in the Presidential race, citing family and personal reasons for his decision.
Further Reading
The only biography of Quayle is The Making of a Senator: Dan Quayle, by Richard F. Fenno Jr., published in 1989. Although widely covered in the media during the campaign, the best periodical sources on Quayle are political journals such as Congressional Quarterly Weekly Reports and the National Journal.
AccomplishmentsElectoral history
- 1992 Presidential Race
- Clinton/Gore (D), 43% (370 Electoral Votes)
- Bush/Quayle (R), 37% (168 Electoral Votes)
- Perot/Stockdale (I), 19% (0 Electoral Votes)
- 1988 Presidential Race
- Bush/Quayle (R), 53% (426 Electoral Votes)
- Dukakis/Bentsen (D), 46% (111 Electoral Votes)
- 1986 Race for U.S. Senate
- Dan Quayle (R) (inc.), 61%
- Jill Long (D), 39%
- 1980 Race for U.S. Senate
- Dan Quayle (R), 54%
- Birch Bayh (D) (inc.), 46%
- 1978 Race for U.S. House of Representatives — 4th District
- Dan Quayle (R) (inc.)
- 1976 Race for U.S. House of Representatives — 4th District
- Dan Quayle (R), 54%
- Ed Roush (D) (inc.), 45%
Published material
- Worth Fighting For, W Publishing Group, July 1999, ISBN 0-8499-1606-2
- Standing Firm: A Vice-Presidential Memoir, Harper Collins, May 1994. hardcover, ISBN 0-06-017758-6; mass market paperback, May, 1995; ISBN 0-06-109390-4; Limited edition, 1994, ISBN 0-06-017601-6
- Dan Quayle at the Internet Movie Database
- Official Dan Quayle Site
- Campaign contributions made by Dan Quayle
- Speech to the Commonwealth Club of California ("Murphy Brown speech")
- List of Quayle Quotations
- Vice Presidential Museum at the Dan Quayle Center
- nndb
- Cerberus Capital Management LP
- Genealogy of the family of J. Danforth Quayle
Quotes:
"It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it."
"I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and democracy -- but that could change."
"What a waste it is to lose one's mind. Or not to have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is."
"The peace dividend is peace."
"You do the policy, I'll do the politics."
"People that are really weird can get into sensitive positions and have a tremendous impact on history."
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 WKBW-TV | Nation eagerly awaits Biden-Palin debate Arizona Republic, AZ - Dan Quayle was asked repeatedly about his readiness for the presidency. On the third question, he pointed out he had been in the Senate longer than John ... Sarah Palin and Joe Biden can learn from previous VP debates VP debate will test mettle of Palin, Biden A clash that could be more than mere talk |
Historically, VP debates have little effect on race Newsday, NY - ... "You're no Jack Kennedy" put-down to Dan Quayle in 1988 - didn't lift Bentsen and Michael Dukakis to the White House. But when James Stockdale, ... |
From the Archive Op-Classic, 1988: A Heartbeat Away New York Times, United States - His father, James Quayle, got him his first job as a lawyer. Then he became associate publisher of his father's newspaper. When he was asked to run for ... |
 ABC News | How Palin, McCain’s Kryptonite, Could Still Take the Debate New York Magazine, USA - That ’92 debate is remembered for Admiral James Stockdale asking, “Who am I? Why am I here?” But it was Quayle who stole the show. ... Video: Biden's 'Bridge' Jab At Palin Vice-presidential debate: Turn on, tune in, tie one on VP debate holds risk, promise |
Matthew Norman: Once you're a joke, you're doomed Independent, UK - was the Admiral's introductory gambit in his debate with Dan Quayle and Al Gore, "and why am I here?" At first the audience greeted this with approval, ... |
Will fall's debates have the feel of Comedy Central? Monroenews.com, MI - George HW Bush and Dan Quayle spoke for the Republicans. Independents Ross Perot and James Stockdale also were included. The vice presidential debate was ... |
The Politics of Family Values theTrumpet.com, OK - Another telling comparison: At the 1992 Republican convention, Vice President Dan Quayle’s wife, Marilyn, said during her televised speech, “Most women do ... |
Palin chosen for conservative views, not potential as leader Central Maine Morning Sentinel, ME - Appearing with Stockdale were Republican Vice President Dan Quayle, who was seeking re-election with President George HW Bush, and Sen. ... Palin/Biden: A Zinger of a Debate? Alaskan Foreign Policy |
 Economist | James Crumley, an American crime writer, died on September 17th ... Economist, UK - Milo is a little kinder and more philosophical than Sughrue, but both would have got along well with their creator, James Crumley, the army-veteran son of a ... |
Debates Don't Always Reveal Character Wall Street Journal - It was 1992, when my father (John McCain's senior officer in Vietnam), Adm. James B. Stockdale, appeared on stage to debate Al Gore and Dan Quayle. ... |
James Quayle Archive References
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