VP debate 1992: Quayle, Stockdale, Gore
James Danforth Quayle, February 4, 1947 (Indianapolis, Ind.) -
VP candidate for Independent (1992)
Running mate with nominee: David McAlister Barry (b. 1947)
Running mate with nominee: Bartholomew JoJo Simpson (b. 1987)
Popular vote (Barry): ? (0.00%)
Popular vote (Simpson): ? (0.00%)
Electoral vote (Barry and Simpson): 0/538
Dan Quayle was actually the VP on three tickets in 1992, one of them as the incumbent US Vice-President with President George H.W. Bush and running for a second term. Since that effort was under the auspices of the Republican Party and not a third party I am not covering it in this profile. The first Baby Boomer elected to a national office, Quayle had a remarkable political rise starting in 1976 as he defeated entrenched incumbents. 1992 would be the first time he was defeated in an election.
The campaign (Barry):
Humor newspaper columnist and author Dave Barry announced he was running for President in April 1991. Why? "A big free airplane and the chance to invite Julia Roberts to the White House ..." and "I'm also into motorcading. One thing that makes me want to be President is that I'd have the ability to screw up traffic in major cities."
Barry on the issues in the 1992 campaign--
My first act as President would be to declare war on France. We don’t like them, they don’t like us. It would be kind of fun.
On his wife's negative reaction to his candidacy: I think in part because I can use it as an excuse to get out of housework. She can say, "Did you put the boxes away?" and I can say, "No, I can't. Right now, I'm running for President." The more I think about it, that may be why Walter Mondale did it, or Michael Dukakis.
I'd like to go pretty much from being elected to working on my presidential library. My library, by the way, would have a video arcade.
I assume it goes without saying that I favor mandatory sterilization of anybody who has knowingly been elected to Congress more than twice.
There are two areas I don't intend to get bogged down in: foreign affairs and domestic policy.
On Ross Perot: You just want to get him in a headlock and give him a noogie, just to let him know that you like him both as a person and as a billionaire.
In 1991, he chose Dan Quayle as his running mate: "He's a fun dude, and he has proved he can handle the primary duty of the vice presidency, which is to stand behind the President and frown with the concerned, thoughtful expression of a man who suspects he has a live moth in his inner ear. The official Barry/Quayle campaign theme will be 'Just What We Need: Two White Guys in Their Forties.'" Ironically, with the election of Clinton and Gore in 1992, that's exactly what America got.
He called Quayle, "the perfect humor vice president," but said he would alter the Constitution, "not in any elaborate way, just with a felt tip pen" to add a rule that Quayle would never become President.
Although Americans have mocked their political leaders ever since Day One, the Age of Television amplified and recorded words that escaped before they were thought through, and subsequently were replayed over and over for our entertainment, or horror. In this regard Vice-President Quayle did not help himself and became the bread and butter for many a comedian and humorist.
Here are some of the better quotes:
Republicans understand the importance of bondage between a mother and child.
It's time for the human race to enter into the solar system.
We have a firm commitment to NATO; we are a part of NATO. We have a firm commitment to Europe; we are a part of Europe.
I believe that we are on an irreversible trend toward freedom and democracy, but that could change.
What a waste it is to lose one's mind. Or to not have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is.
The Holocaust was an obscene period in our nation's history. I mean this century's history. But we all lived in this century. I didn't live in this century.
Quite frankly, teachers are the only profession that teach our children.
For NASA, space is still a high priority.
We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur.
Who is to blame for the riots? The rioters are to blame. Who is to blame for the killings? The killers are to blame.
Verbosity leads to unclear, inarticulate things.
I stand by all the misstatements that I've made.
We don't want to go back to tomorrow, we want to go forward.
I want to be Robin to Bush's Batman.
Welcome to President Bush, Mrs. Bush, and my fellow astronauts.
In George Bush you get experience, and with me you get - The Future!
This president is going to lead us out of this recovery. It will happen.
It's a question of whether we're going to go forward into the future, or past to the back.
It's wonderful to be here in the great state of Chicago.
A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls.
If we don't succeed we run the risk of failure.
It's a very good historical book about history.
Republicans have been accused of abandoning the poor. It's the other way around. They never vote for us.
It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it.
I pledge allegiance to the Christian flag, and to the Savior, for whose Kingdom it stands, one Savior, crucified, risen, and coming again, with life and liberty for all who believe.
My friends, no matter how rough the road may be, we can and we will, never, never surrender to what is right.
I am not part of the problem. I am a Republican.
Hawaii has always been a very pivotal role in the Pacific. It is in the Pacific. It is a part of the United States that is an island that is right here.
I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgments in the future.
Unfortunately, the people of Louisiana are not racists.
Every once in a while, you let a word or phrase out and you want to catch it and bring it back. You can't do that. It's gone, gone forever
When you make as many speeches and you talk as much as I do and you get away from the text, it's always a possibility to get a few words tangled here and there.
Barry never registered with the FEC, nor did he gain ballot access or write-in certification in any state, so we'll never know the true popular vote result for this ticket. In 1995 Barry announced he was making a second try for the White House, but this time without a running mate that I could find.
The campaign (Simpson):
The existence of this ticket is rather tenuous, based simply on a campaign button with Simpson and Quayle declaring ELECT THE UNDERACHIEVERS IN '92.
This button might have been created in response to a speech by President Bush during the campaign when he said American families should be "a lot more like the Waltons and a lot less like the Simpsons". Shortly after that the Simpsons were shown watching the televised speech and replied, "Hey, we’re like the Waltons. We’re praying for an end to the depression, too."
Simpson's creator Matt Groening told the press, "Part of my mission always has been to tease and provoke, and it's a real thrill when they take the bait."
Of course the Simpson/Quayle ticket would have had some problems taking office since (A) Bart was too young, and (B) Bart is a fictitious character.
Election history:
1977-1981 - US House of Representatives (Ind.) (Republican)
1981-1989 - US Senate (Ind.) (Republican)
1989-1993 - US Vice-President (Republican)
1992 - US Vice-President (Republican) - defeated
2000 - Republican nomination for President - withdrew in 1999
Other occupations: Indiana National Guard, attorney, investigator for the Consumer Protection Division of the Office of the Indiana Attorney General, administrative assistant to Governor Edgar Whitcomb, Director of the Inheritance Tax Division of the Indiana Department of Revenue, associate publisher of the Huntington Herald-Press (family business), author, investment banker, Chairman of Global Investments at Cerberus Capital Management.
Notes:
Defeated Birch Bayh in 1980.
Brush with fame: Matt Groening was my neighbor in 1974 and a bit later I worked on the college
newspaper when he was editor. I last saw him in 2011 and he remains one of the good guys.
Another brush with fame: I have a copy of Dave Barry's In Cyberspace (1996) signed by author.
Barry inscribed it: Mary- Merry Christmas. I have no idea where it came from or who Mary is.
