Dan Quayle and Sarah Palin came to national attention in similar fashions. Both were surprise dark horse choices to be the Republican Vice Presidential candidate. While they may not be two peas in a pod, looking closer reveals some interesting parallels. Unfortunately, Sarah Palin does not seem to live up to the low standard set by Dan Quayle.
Both Dan Quayle and Sarah Palin were young and short on experience when they were chosen. Quayle was 41. However, before that he was twice elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and twice elected to the U.S. Senate. Both times he was reelected, he won by a relatively large margin. His first House term began in 1976 and he served in the House and Senate until he was chosen as George H. W. Bush’s (Bush-41’s) running mate in 1988, two years into his second Senate term. Today, members of the U.S. House of Representatives represent about 700,000 residents. Senators represent entire states; Indiana’s current population is 6,300,000.
Palin was 44 when tapped by John McCain to join him on the ticket. Palin’s entry to politics was in 1992 when she was elected to the City Council of Wasilla, Alaska, a suburb of Anchorage. Following service in a second two-year term as councilwoman, Palin was twice elected mayor and served six years in that capacity. In 2000, during Palin’s second term as mayor, Wasilla had a population of 5,500.
In 2002, Palin tried and failed to win election as Alaska’s lieutenant governor, but was then appointed
chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Commission, an office she held from 2003 to 2004. Palin was elected governor of Alaska in 2006 and took office on December 4. She had served one year and nine months when selected to run for vice president. Alaska has a population of 680,000, the same as the Springfield, Massachusetts metropolitan area. North Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming are the only states with fewer people.
Let’s tally the score after Round 1, Age and Experience.
Both were about the same age when picked, so let’s score that: Quayle 1; Palin 1.
Quayle had 12 years of experience in national office, representing as many as several million people.
Palin had about 15 years of experience in small-town and small-state (small population-wise) politics, representing one-thousandth to one-tenth as many people as Quayle. Let’s score experience: Quayle
2; Palin 1.
So, at the end of Round 1, the total score is Quayle 3; Palin 2.
Both Dan Quayle and Sarah Palin are intellectual pantywaists. Quayle was famous for his ignorance. Take
his comment when asked about the recently adopted goal of putting Americans on Mars. He said, “Mars is essentially in the same orbit [as earth]….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.”
Palin has revealed herself, to the embarrassment of educated and law-abiding Alaskans, to be a dupe of
the creationist publicity campaign. In a debate during her 2006 bid for the governorship, she said, “Teach both [evolution and creationism in pubic schools]. You know, don’t be afraid of information. Healthy debate is so important, and it’s so valuable in our schools. I am a proponent of teaching both.” Apparently, then-candidate Palin did not know that the teaching of creationism has been repeatedly found to violate the Constitution’s prohibition of promoting religion. (more) “Teach both” is illegal.
How shall we score Round 2, Intellect?
As vice president, Quayle had an amazing track record of intellectual imbecility which is only sampled here. Although she has only had a short time to disprove her cognitive competence, she already has one demerit. It is only one demerit, however, so we must give Palin one point for intellect. Stay tuned. This candidate shows a lot of promise for eventually equaling Quayle’s cerebral incompetence.
The score for Round 2: Quayle 0; Palin 1.
Both Dan Quayle and Sarah Palin are members of a privileged elite. Quayle came of age during the Viet
Nam war, graduating from college in 1969. He was at risk of being drafted and sent to Viet Nam to be cannon fodder. It is widely believed that he circumvented the draft by using the political connections of his wealthy family to land a position in the Indiana National Guard. At that time, it was very unlikely that a national guard unit would be deployed to Viet Nam, and indeed, Quayle’s was not.
Quayle, at least, was forced to register for the draft on his eighteenth birthday. Palin avoided even that, thanks to her privileged status. As an aspiring politician, Palin could have demonstrated her patriotism, courage, and integrity by volunteering for the armed forces, but she did not.
How do the candidates measure up in Round 3, Military Service?
Even though he avoided the draft, Quayle did serve. He deserves a point for that: Quayle 1; Palin 0.
That concludes our scoring of the parallels in the public lives of Dan Quayle and Sarah Palin. What
are the totals?
Quayle: 4; Palin: 3
Quayle wins!!
Sarah Palin is Dan Quayle lite. I wonder if she knows how to spell “potatoe?”
Links:
McCain-Palin Official Web Site
