Dubai: If there was a prize for the worst Vice-President of the United States, Dan Quayle would likely make the short list. But his intellectual lapses were without malice, which is a positive factor in him not being awarded the prize. That would either have to be shared between Dick Cheney for his crossing the blurred lines between politics, ethics and business; or to the disgrace Spiro Agnew.
He will always be remembered as the veep who couldn’t spell ‘potato’ — becoming the butt of late-night comedians, talk radio callers and an electorate needing light relief from a declining economy after the highs of victory in the first Gulf War.
He was subsequently depicted in editorial cartoons as ‘Mr Potato Head’, a character popularised in the hit movie Toy Story.
Quayle was a surprise choice by George H W Bush when he ran for the White House at the end of Ronald Reagan’s eight-years in 1987. Though he was picked in part for his youth, he soon became characterised as an inexperienced buffoon.
And any effort to rejuvenate his image in the 1992 campaign ended dismally with a caustically delivered line on a nationally televised prime time vice-president with Bill Clinton’s ticket partner.
Comparisons with Kennedy
Quayle attempted to liken himself to assassinated President John F. Kennedy.
“Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine,” Lloyd Bentson told Quayle. “Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy.”
That was effectively the death knell for the Senator from Indiana’s life in politics.
Presidents can fire the entire cabinet, replace all the generals and even divorce a spouse and disown a child, but they have no power to act against the vice-president. It is a choice that presidents have to live with — and sometimes, live down.
According to his official biographical details Quayle “was born on February 4, 1947, in Indianapolis, Indiana. After spending much of his youth in Arizona, he graduated from Huntington High School in Huntington, Indiana, in 1965. He graduated from DePauw University in 1969 and Indiana University School of Law at Indianapolis in 1974. In November 1972, Quayle married the former Marilyn Tucker of Indianapolis. They have three grown children: Tucker, Benjamin and Corinne and five grandchildren. They live in Paradise Valley, Arizona where he attended grade school and high school.”
Fodder for comedians
Benjamin has ambitions to follow his father’s political career — though, one would assume, with hopefully greater longevity and less fodder for late-night comedians.
Since retiring from active politics, Quayle has proven to be a highly successful businessman.
He joined the Cerberus Advisory Board in 2000, and currently serves as chairman. According to the company’s prospectus, “Cerberus is one of the world’s leading private investment firms, with approximately $23 billion [Dh84.5 billion] under management, and is headquartered in New York City, with affiliates and/or advisory offices in the United States, Europe, and Asia.”
As an aside, Quayle is also a director of Bell Automotive — a maker of steering wheel covers, fuzzy dice and glowing-skull lighter plugs.
But they don’t make Mr. Potato Head model toys.
