 


 
Opinion: Dan Quayle deserves our thanks, not our laughter

















































 
 

































Skip to content







All Sections




Subscribe Now 




18°F


 
							Wednesday, February 19th 2025									
eNewspaper 




Home Page


Close MenuSubscriber Services

Subscriber Services
Manage Subscription
EZ Pay
Vacation Stop
Delivery Issue


Today’s E-Editions

Chicago Tribune
Evening Edition
The Beacon News
The Courier-News
Daily Southtown
Lake County News-Sun
Naperville Sun
Post-Tribune
Naperville Magazine


Advertise with Us

Advertise with Us
Classified
Who’s Who
Jobs


Business

Business
Careers & Finance
Top Workplaces
Real Estate
Transportation


Dining

Dining
Louisa Kung Liu Chu
Recipes


Entertainment

Entertainment
Advice
Arts
Books
Home and Garden
Movies
Museums
Music
The Theater Loop
Travel
TV and Streaming


En Español
News

Latest Headlines
Crime and Public Safety
Education
Environment
Health
History
Immigration
Investigations
Local News
Marijuana
National News
Science
World News
Weather


Opinion

Opinion
Editorials
Commentary
Letters
Tribune Voices


Politics

Politics
Elections


Chicago Bulls
Chicago White Sox
Chicago Bears
Chicago Cubs
Chicago Blackhawks
Sports

Sports
Chicago Bears
Chicago Bulls
Chicago Blackhawks
Chicago Cubs
Chicago White Sox
Chicago Sky
College Sports
Soccer


Aurora Beacon-News
Daily Southtown
Elgin Courier-News
Lake County News-Sun
Naperville Sun
Post-Tribune
Suburbs

All Suburbs
Aurora Beacon News
Daily Southtown
Elgin Courier-News
Lake County News-Sun
Naperville Sun
Post-Tribune


Classifieds
Jobs
Obituaries

Obituaries
News Obituaries
Place an obituary


Special Sections
Branded Content

Paid Partner Content
Advertising by Ascend
Paid Content by Brandpoint


Close Menu 



Sign up for email newsletters

				Sign Up







 

Commentary |  

			Chris Lamb: Former Vice President Dan Quayle…		



Share this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Bluesky (Opens in new window)Click to share on X (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) 




















Subscribe
Login
 




Account Settings
Contact Us
Log Out

Spoof a user







Sign up for email newsletters

				Sign Up






Subscribe
Login
 









Search











18°F


 
							Wednesday, February 19th 2025									
eNewspaper 



Commentary 


 



Editorials
Commentary
Letters
Clarence Page
 





			Trending:		



Commentary |  

			🏛️ Illinois budget		



Commentary |  

			🏠 CHA report		



Commentary |  

			💧 Skokie water main break		



Commentary |  

			🏈 Bears Q&A		



Commentary |  

			✍️ Asking Eric		



Commentary |  

			📆 Today in History		












 

 
 


OpinionCommentary


Commentary | 

			Chris Lamb: Former Vice President Dan Quayle deserves our thanks, not our laughter		

Share this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Bluesky (Opens in new window)Click to share on X (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

 
						U.S. Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, D-Texas, left, shakes hands with U.S. Sen. Dan Quayle, R-Ind., before the start of their vice presidential debate at the Omaha Civic Auditorium in Omaha, Nebraska., on Oct. 5, 1988. (Ron Edmonds/AP)		

By Chris LambUPDATED: September 30, 2024 at 8:37 AM CDTGeorge H.W. Bush, who was then vice president, selected the little-known 41-year-old U.S. Sen. Dan Quayle of Indiana as his running mate when Bush ran for president in 1988.The boyish-looking Quayle tried to dismiss concerns about his age and inexperience by frequently comparing himself to John F. Kennedy, who had served as a congressman and senator before running for president in 1960.“I have as much experience … as Jack Kennedy did when he sought the presidency,” Quayle said during his debate with Democratic vice presidential candidate Lloyd Bentsen on Oct. 5, 1988. Bentsen, a longtime Texas senator, was waiting for the comparison.“Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mind. Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy,” Bentsen famously drawled.The crowd applauded and jeered.Quayle, obviously stunned by the response, uttered, “That was really uncalled for.” I was among the roughly 50 million people watching.

Quayle’s face remains frozen in time 36 years later — the chastened expression of a boy sent to his room without his chocolate pudding. The Bentsen-Quayle exchange remains perhaps the most famous moment in the history of American political debates. It is a cautionary tale that keeps politicians up the night before a debate. Politics is a dog-eat-dog business — and no politician wants to end up on the Quayle end of a fire hydrant. Bush and Quayle won the presidential election, but Quayle never recovered from the humiliation.Quayle’s term as vice president was marked by a series of gaffes. In an effort to correct a 12-year-old student  who had correctly spelled the word “potato,” the vice president ended up misspelling the word. He butchered the motto of the United Negro College Fund by saying “What a waste it is to lose one’s mind. Or not to have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is.”Quayle became a national laughingstock — a punch line in search of a joke.I dedicated one book of political humor, “I’ll Be Sober in the Morning,” to Quayle and included a chapter on the Bentsen-Quayle debate in my 2020 book “The Art of the Political Putdown.” 
Democrat Tim Walz and Republican JD Vance will participate in the vice presidential debate on  Tuesday.The video of the Bentsen-Quayle debate will be shown in the days and hours preceding the vice presidential debate as it is every four years in the days and hours preceding the debate.People will snicker at Quayle as they do every time they see it.Not me. Quayle deserves our thanks, not our laughter. He saved America four years ago. (Kind of.)Donald Trump clearly lost the 2020 presidential election. Voters said so. Recounts said so. Judges said so. They tossed out dozens of Trump’s lawsuits challenging the election results. But Trump continued to think he could overturn the results of the election by, among other things, having his vice president, Mike Pence, refuse to certify the election in Congress on Jan. 6, 2021.The Constitution did not give Pence that power, but the obsequious Pence did not want to disappoint his president.Robert Costa and Bob Woodward, in their book “Peril,” wrote that Pence wanted desperately to accede to Trump’s pressure and reject the certification of the election. Pence turned to Quayle, who, like Pence, had served as an Indiana congressman before becoming vice president of the United States. Quayle told Pence he could not do what Trump had ordered him to do.“Mike,” Quayle told Pence, according to Costa and Woodward’s book, “you have no flexibility on this. None. Zero. Forget it. Put it away.”Pence kept pressuring Quayle. Quayle did not budge.Pence told Trump he could not do what the president demanded. When Trump couldn’t legally win the presidency, he unleashed a mob to try to overturn the election with violence. The republic held — in part because of Quayle.We owe Quayle our appreciation. I will laugh no more at Dan Quayle.Editor’s note: An earlier version misstated the number of commonalities between Mike Pence and Dan Quayle. The Tribune regrets the error.Chris Lamb is a professor of journalism at Indiana University-Indianapolis. He can be reached at lambch@iu.edu.Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
Originally Published: September 29, 2024 at 5:00 AM CDTShare this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Bluesky (Opens in new window)Click to share on X (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) 

 

Most PopularMost PopularFired Thornton Township worker, Tiffany Henyard’s boyfriend, files suit alleging wrongful terminationFired Thornton Township worker, Tiffany Henyard's boyfriend, files suit alleging wrongful terminationChicago Housing Authority is owed millions in rent and failing to enforce leases, report findsChicago Housing Authority is owed millions in rent and failing to enforce leases, report findsBev’s closes in downtown Naperville, Effin Egg shutters after short stintBev’s closes in downtown Naperville, Effin Egg shutters after short stintDaily Horoscope for February 18, 2025Daily Horoscope for February 18, 2025Indiana Senate passes Gov. Mike Braun’s property tax plan on third readingIndiana Senate passes Gov. Mike Braun’s property tax plan on third readingDaily Horoscope for February 19, 2025Daily Horoscope for February 19, 2025Chicago Bears Q&A: Has Ryan Poles been too cautious in free agency? What is Plan B at guard after Trey Smith?Chicago Bears Q&A: Has Ryan Poles been too cautious in free agency? What is Plan B at guard after Trey Smith?With ongoing slowdown of police discipline in Chicago, department is turning to internal controlsWith ongoing slowdown of police discipline in Chicago, department is turning to internal controlsBill to lure Chicago Bears to Indiana passes HouseBill to lure Chicago Bears to Indiana passes HouseIllinois secession bill passes out of Indiana committee, but even supporters aren’t totally on boardIllinois secession bill passes out of Indiana committee, but even supporters aren't totally on board 

 

 

				More in Commentary			






 




Commentary |  

			Laura Washington: Studs Terkel had a quality today’s Democrats so sorely need		












 




Commentary |  

			Lynne McChristian: Don’t import California’s shortsighted insurance regulation policies		












 




Commentary |  

			George Cardenas: City Council must protect taxpayers from Mayor Brandon Johnson’s latest borrowing plan		












 




Commentary |  

			Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton: Illinois is fighting back against Donald Trump’s unconstitutional actions		









 

 

2024
September
29








Tribune Publishing

New York Daily News
The Morning Call
Daily Press
The Virginian-Pilot
Orlando Sentinel
Sun Sentinel
Hartford Courant
Studio 1847


Company Info

About Us
Careers
Help Center
Media Kit
Privacy Policy
Chicago Tribune Store
Site Map
Archives




Subscribe Now 




Subscriber Terms and Conditions
Terms of Service
Cookie Policy
Cookie Preferences
California Notice at Collection
CA Notice of Financial Incentive
Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
 
Copyright © 2025 Chicago Tribune
 




Close
















Why not both?