February 4, 1947 – Birth of James Danforth Quayle, 44th Vice President of the US, Serving Under President George H. W. Bush

James Danforth Quayle, known as Dan, was born in Indiana on this day in history. According to the UVA Miller Center, both of Quayle’s parents were politically active conservatives who participated in Republican Party politics and instilled strong conservative values in their son. Quayle graduated from the Indiana University-Indianapolis Law School in 1974, and with his wife Marilyn, practiced law in Huntington, Indiana before his election to the US House of Representatives in 1976. In 1980, he was elected to the US Senate.

In 1988, vice president and Republican presidential nominee George H. W. Bush chose Quayle as his running mate.

Dan Quayle, official portrait, 1989

Jules Witcover, in The American Vice Presidency, reports that “the senior George Bush’s choice of the youthful Quayle was widely regarded as a blatantly political one, based on providing some sex appeal and charisma to the bland Bush image rather than any experience or intellectual heft Quayle would bring to the Republican ticket.”

The Bush–Quayle ticket defeated the Democratic ticket of Michael Dukakis and Bentsen, and Quayle became vice president in January, 1989. During his tenure, Quayle chaired the National Space Council and the Council on Competitiveness, where, Witcover charges, “he could carry the conservative flag against troublesome environmental regulations.” For his work in helping to alter federal rules in ways more favorable to business, but less salubrious for the earth, he gained high marks from conservatives, along with sharp criticism from those interested in protecting labor and environmental rights.

He also undertook ceremonial duties abroad, making official visits to 47 countries.

As vice president, he developed a reputation for making gaffes, such as calling Pago Pago in American Samoa, “Pogo Pogo.” In discussing the United Negro Fund, which at that time had the slogan, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste,” Quayle made the unfortunate reformulation, “What a waste it is to lose one’s mind, or not to have a mind, is very wasteful. How true that is.” (You can see more of his notorious quotes here.)

Quayle secured re-nomination for vice president in 1992, but Democrat Bill Clinton and his running mate Al Gore defeated the Bush–Quayle ticket. Quayle retired to private life after the defeat.

Quayle with President George H. W. Bush in 1989

But Quayle made perhaps his most important contribution to the political fate of the Republic in 2021, when he was consulted by his fellow Indianan and Trump’s Vice President Mike Pence. Trump wanted Pence to help him overturn the 2020 election. Robert Costa and Bob Woodward, in their well-researched book, Peril about the end of the Trump Presidency, reported that Pence called Quayle in late December 2021 to ask if there was any way he could give Trump want he wanted.

Quayle was adamant, according to the authors. “Mike, you have no flexibility on this. None. Zero. Forget it. Put it away,” he said.

But Pence pressed him, the authors wrote, asking if there were any grounds to pause the certification because of ongoing legal challenges. Quayle was unmoved, and Pence ultimately agreed, according to the book.