Biography

Dan Quayle graduated from DePauw Univ. (1969) and served in the Indiana National Guard (1969–75). The son of a prominent Indiana publishing family, he graduated from law school (Indiana Univ., 1974) and then became associate publisher and general manager of the Huntington Herald—Press. In 1976 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a conservative Republican. In 1980 he was elected to the Senate, defeating three—term incumbent Birch Bayh, and was reelected in 1986.

In 1988 Republican presidential candidate George Bush selected Quayle as his running mate. Although not taken seriously by the media at first, he became an effective speaker for conservative issues. He chaired the President’s Council on Competitiveness, which attempted to reduce governmental and environmental regulation on businesses. Renominated in 1992, he attacked the “Hollywood” media and campaigned vigorously in defense of the Bush administration’s record. Bush and Quayle lost the election to Bill Clinton and Al Gore. Quayle mounted an abortive run for the 2000 Republican presidential nomination in 1999.

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