From: madhaus@netcom.com (Maddi Hausmann)
Subject: Re: New Quayle Quote (NY Times, 10/7/92)
Organization: Society for Putting Things on Top of Other Things
Date: Fri, 9 Oct 1992 22:12:42 GMT

In article <1992Oct9.151104.14375@cbnewsh.cb.att.com> leo@cbnewsh.cb.att.com (leonard.oppenheimer) writes:
>I am new to this newsgroup.  From what I have seen of it so far, I do not
>plan to stay long, since it seems to welcome only the mindless
>Quayle-bashing that one sees again and again in the media.

Don't worry, you won't have to stay long.  The Danster will be out
on his ear in just three weeks and four days.

As to the "mindless Quayle bashing...in the media" would you mind
explaining why you posted such a good example of it for us?  I
thought you supported the guy, but you seem to have added to the
central tenet of this newsgroup:

  That J. Danforth Quayle is not only unqualified to be the Vice-President,
  he would have trouble remembering to ask customers if they want fries with
  their orders.

>I am the first to admit that Quayle has had some bad goofs, like potato etc.
>However, I find that:

Did you read the Quayle Quotes posted in this group?  "Some" bad goofs?
I guess you think that Bosnia has "some" civil problems.

>a) He almost always seems to come out on the correct and proper side of the
>issues that he has dealt with, and has been a consistent and steadfast
>supporter of those causes that would bring this country back to to its
>senses from many of the excesses of the loony left.  On the issues of legal
>reform, family values, support for Israel, and the importance of free
>enterprise, he has been an important advocate of mainstream American values.

Oooh, all those codewords!  Correct, proper, loony left, family values, and
mainstream.  I didn't think you could get all those words in one paragraph
without choking.  Of course, it has zero information content, but that's
been the whole Bush/Quayle campaign to date.  If they talked about the facts,
the Messrs. Bush and Quayle would have no choice but do the honorable
thing and resign.

>b) The media (and this newsgroup) are extremely unfair to him.  As has been
>stated many times, Murphy Brown is a perfect example.  The issue was so
>twisted and convoluted, and so different from the thrust of what was an
>excellent speech with an important message, that it was truly deplorable to
>anyone with a sense of fair play.

Yeah, we're so unfair, we repeat the things he says!  From now on we'll
just parrot his own press releases.

>A perfect example of the way things get twisted in this newsgroup was this
>posting.  I have downloaded the original article, and appended it to this.
>Compare the original and the "citation"/commentary of the poster, and make
>your own judgment as to whether the posting was fair.

This is a perfect example of what an idiot Mr. Quayle is.  I didn't see
anything twisted between the quote and the actual article (which had been
previosly posted to this newsgroup--we are very diligent in documenting
our work!) so I would appreciate it if you would explain what was twisted.
The entire thrust of that article is that if Dan departs from his
prepared speeches (which you can bet he didn't write), he ends up looking
like a dork.  What did you read into that article?  The excerpts below
prove this point!


>Original Article: [excerpted]
>--------------------
>
>   But recent moments on the campaign trail suggest that Mr.  Quayle  is still
>not sure-footed when he is forced to speak extemporaneously... 
>
>    Mr.  Quayle  seems to have the most difficulty with technical questions
>about Administration policy. 
>
>    Mr.  Quayle,  an earnest look on his face, began to fidget. "I, I can't tell
>you exactly what we do on that pain and suffering in the ---- " the Vice
>President said, his voice trailing off as he looked offstage...
>
>   What Mr.  Quayle  presumably did not recall is that one of the five
>malpractice measures would require states to place a cap of $250,000 on damages
>for pain and suffering to avoid a cutoff of Federal financing.

>   "If I was standing up there and was supposedly putting forth a policy for
>something as important as a campaign for President, I would have had that answer
>on the tip of my tongue, especially if I was a lawyer," said Dr. Jeffrey H.
>Hill.
> 
>Refers to Index Cards
>
>Mr.  Quayle 
>has excelled during the 1992 campaign when reading from a text. 
>
>   But after almost four years as Vice President and after months of
>campaigning, Mr.  Quayle  still refers to index cards when delivering the most
>standard speech. And while he is capable of handling a technical question
>adroitly, as he did last week in answering a query on the obscure issue of
>ethanol production, Mr.  Quayle  often finds himself sinking when he is without
>the security of a script.
>
>   It does not necessarily happen every day, but it happens often enough to
>raise questions about the Vice President's facility with both language and
>subject matter...
>
>   In the last month, Mr.  Quayle  has visited a number of hospitals to
>highlight the Administration's position on health care. But his well-informed
>audiences have often found his presentations shallow. When a woman at a hospital
>in Colorado Springs asked Mr.  Quayle  last week whether Hawaii's universal
>health-care plan might serve as a national model, Mr.  Quayle  left it unclear
>whether he knew anything about the plan. He tackled the question anyway.
> 
>Arriving Unprepared
>
>    "Hawaii is a unique state," he said. "It is a small state. It is a state
>that is by itself. It is a -- it is different than the other 49 states. Well,
>all states are different, but it's got a particularly unique situation."
>
>   Mr.  Quayle  also suffers at times from a lack of preparation. In late August
>he called a news conference while touring a high-technology factory near Detroit
>to announce that the Pentagon would spend $300 million to upgrade the Army's M-1
>tanks at a Michigan plant. But when reporters asked Mr.  Quayle  how the tanks
>would be upgraded and how many jobs would be saved, he had no idea...
>
>   Mr.  Quayle  and his staff also believe that the Vice President is
>beautifully positioned because low expectations could transform a mere draw into
>a victory. But they recognize that Mr.  Quayle  will have little margin for
>error because of the public's perception of him as a bumbler.
>
>   "That's the problem with being Dan  Quayle, " said one aide, who spoke on the
>condition of anonymity. "Sometimes there's a data download as he's shifting
>gears. But I think he knows the issues better than most people think."
>


-- 
Maddi Hausmann                madhaus@netcom.com
Humorist, Satirist, Tech Writer.  Take your pick.

Centigram Communications Corp, San Jose California  408/428-3553
Newsgroups: alt.fan.dan-quayle