J. Danforth Quayle


[As Vice President] A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls.

[As Vice President, 9/5/90] For NASA, space is still a high priority.

[During a visit to Hawaii in 1989] 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.

[As Vice President] I am not part of the problem. I am a Republican.

[As Vice President, 5/22/89] I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and democracy - but that could change.

[As Vice President] I have made good judgements in the Past. I have made good judgements in the Future.

[As Vice President] I love California, I practically grew up in Phoenix.

[As Vice President to Sam Donaldson, 8/17/89] I stand by all the misstatements that I've made.

[As Vice President] I support efforts to limit the terms of members of Congress, especially members of the House and members of the Senate.

[As Vice President] I was recently on a tour of Latin America, and the only regret I have was that I didn't study Latin harder in school so I could converse with those people.

     If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure.

[As Vice President, 5/20/92 (reported in Esquire, 8/92)] Illegitimacy is something we should talk about in terms of not having it.

[As Vice President] It is wonderful to be here in the great state of Chicago.

[As Vice President] It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it.

[As Vice President 8/11/89] Mars is essentially in the same orbit... Mars is somewhat the same distance from the Sun, which is very important. We have seen pictures where there are canals, we believe, and water. If there is water, that means there is oxygen. If oxygen, that means we can breathe.

[From The Quayles' 1989 Christmas card.] May our nation continue to be the beakon of hope to the world.

[As Vice President, 8/18/92] Murphy Brown is doing better than I am. At least she knows she still has a job next year.

[As Vice President, 12/6/89] One word sums up probably the responsibility of any vice president, and that one word is "to be prepared."

[As Vice President] People that are really very weird can get into sensitive positions and have a tremendous impact on history.

[As Vice President to reporters in 10/88] Public speaking is very easy.

[As Vice President, 9/18/90] Quite frankly, teachers are the only profession that teach our children.

[As Vice President on Republican family values] Republicans understand the importance of bondage between a mother and child.

[As Vice President] The American people would not want to know of any misquotes that Dan Quayle may or may not make.

[As Vice President] The future will be better tomorrow.

[As Indiana Senator and vice-presidential candidate during a news conference in which he was asked his opinion about the Holocaust] The Holocaust was an obscene period in our nation's history... this
century's history... We all lived in this century. I didn't live in this century.

[As Vice Presidential candidate, 9/15/88] The Holocaust was an obscene period in our nation's history. I mean in this century's history. But we all lived in this century. I didn't live in this century.

[As Vice-President on the San Francisco earthquake] The loss of life will be irreplaceable.

[As Vice President, 11/30/88] Verbosity leads to unclear, inarticulate things.

[As Vice President, 9/22/90] We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur.

[As Vice President] We don't want to go back to tomorrow, we want to go forward.

[As Vice President] 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.

[As Vice President] We're all capable of mistakes, but I do not care to enlighten you on the mistakes we may or may not have made.

[As Vice President, 9/21/88] We're going to have the best-educated American people in the world.

     Welcome to President Bush, Mrs. Bush, and my fellow astronauts.

[As Vice President addressing the United Negro College Fund. He was attempting to quote the line "A mind is a terrible thing to waste."] What a waste it is to lose one's mind--or not to have a mind. How true that is.

[As Vice President] What a waste it is to lose one's mind. Or not to have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is.

[As Vice President on the complex social issues behind the Los Angeles Riots] When I have been asked during these last weeks who caused the riots and the killing in L.A., my answer has been direct and simple: Who is to blame for the riots? The rioters are to blame. Who is to blame for the killings? The killers are to blame.