President Dan Quayle in 2000

DSS

I was reading on Wiki that Dan Quayle -- the rather dystopic VP under George HW Bush from 1989 to 1993 -- named Dan Quayle considered running for Governor of Indiana in 1996.

So I thought: What if Dan Quayle did run for Governor, regained popularity with the GOP by pulling a few stunts as Governor, and became the frontrunner for the GOP nomination in 2000? Then, if Dan Quayle beat out Bush in the primaries, and won by a similarly narrow margin in November?

What might have happened?
 

CP11

He would need to show something which reassured voters he wasn't a liability as Governor and President. Gaffes like the "potatoe" incident would need to be erased from voters minds :p
 

Trotsky

Is this for real? Like, James Danforth Quayle being a seriously-taken presidential candidate after he was already vice president?
 

Bee

Aaaargh.

After a few months of entertainment for all and sundry, things get deadly serious with an al-Qaeda attack.

After two years of warfare in Afghanistan (but no war in Iraq), Quayle becomes the second president to resign, not because of a scandal but because he knows that he's in over his head and wants to let somebody with a clue take over.
 

voss749

Quayle wasnt as arrogant and far more honest than W. , he was also conservative enough that he could have picked a moderate running mate. Having some time as Governor of indiana might help especially if he does a good job as governor.

Quayle-Powell ticket in 2000 might have actually worked.
 

Alternatehistoryguy47

statichaos said:
George W. Bush was taken seriously after his term as governor, so why not?
Click to expand...

That was after the Clinton scandal. The voters wanted someone in the White House whom they thought had "good moral character" that wouldn't get involved in the types of scandals that Clinton did.

Like him or not, W (as far as we know) at least managed to keep it in his pants.

We just happened to have the misfortune of having that guy be a less than great President.

I don't know if Quayle would have that same appeal.
 

SiddFinch1

kevvy2010 said:
That was after the Clinton scandal. The voters wanted someone in the White House whom they thought had "good moral character" that wouldn't get involved in the types of scandals that Clinton did.

Like him or not, W (as far as we know) at least managed to keep it in his pants.

We just happened to have the misfortune of having that guy be a less than great President.

I don't know if Quayle would have that same appeal.
Click to expand...

Well Quayle was viewed as
likeable
stupid
faithful to his wife

W was viewed as
likeable
stupid
faithful to his wife

The only way i could see Qyale in 2000 is if Papa Bush won in 1992 and Quayle won in 1996 (maybe against Gore?) and was up for re-election and the internet bubble didnt burst in mid 2000
 
Andrew T

Andrew T

SiddFinch1 said:
Well Quayle was viewed as
likeable
stupid
faithful to his wife
Click to expand...

I suggest you google "Dan Quayle Paula Parkinson"; it was widely suspected during the '88 campaign that Quayle had an affair with a lobbyist (Ms. Parkinson). The only reason those allegations didn't get more traction at the time was that Quayle's non-stop gaffes on the campaign trail were more recent.

I sympathize with people who think "gosh, compared to George W. Bush, Dan Quayle is a frickin' Rhodes Scholar" -- but I think Quayle is basically done in elective office after the Vice Presidency unless you've got a POD before 1988, in much the same way that Dick Cheney is done in elective office now.
 
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