Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy

Lloyd Bentsen
Dan Quayle

"Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy" was a remark made during the 1988 United States vice-presidential debate by Democratic vice-presidential candidate Senator Lloyd Bentsen to Republican vice-presidential candidate Senator Dan Quayle in response to Quayle comparing himself to John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States. Since then, the words "You're no Jack Kennedy", or some variation on Bentsen's remark, have become a part of the political lexicon as a way to deflate politicians or other individuals perceived as thinking too highly of themselves.

Context

The debate was held on October 5, 1988, at the Civic Auditorium in Omaha, Nebraska. One of the moderators, Judy Woodruff, set the stage by addressing the audience: "Based on the history since World War II, there is almost a 50–50 chance that one of the two men here tonight will become President of the United States." She was referring to the probability that the man elected vice president would later become president, either by succession or by a presidential bid. (As it stands, neither man ascended to the presidency; Bentsen died in 2006, and Quayle would only make one unsuccessful bid for Republican presidential nomination, in 2000.)

At the time of the debate, three vice-presidents had succeeded to the presidency due to death or resignation since World War II (nine in total), and one former vice-president had gone on to be elected president since World War II (four in total; then-Vice President George H. W. Bush would be the fifth).

After Quayle became Bush's vice presidential running mate, questions were raised in the press about his age (he was 41 at the time); his limited term of service in the Senate; his grades in college; his National Guard duty (which Democrats claimed helped him avoid serving in the military during the Vietnam War);[1][2] and his overall ability to lead the nation in the case of the incapacitation of the president, which became a central issue in the 1988 debate.

Quayle had routinely been comparing himself to Kennedy in his stump speech.

Adviser Susan Estrich recalled in 2004:[3]

Three days [before the debate], in rehearsal, [Bentsen] had been shocked when the Dan Quayle stand-in compared himself to Jack Kennedy. "Does he really do that?", Bentsen asked at the time. He did. "Can I say something?", Bentsen, ever the gentleman, asked us. We nodded enthusiastically. So as we sat backstage, and heard Quayle compare himself to Kennedy, I turned to the key supporters gathered in the holding room and said, "Here it comes." And it did.

In a mock debate with Dennis Eckart, Bentsen used the casual remark "you're no Jack Kennedy and George Bush is no Ronald Reagan."[4]

Quayle did not directly compare himself with Kennedy in terms of accomplishment, but in terms of length of Congressional service; Quayle served for 12 years while Kennedy served for 14. When Kennedy successfully sought the Democratic nomination in 1960, he had less experience than his primary opponents, most of whom had more seniority in the Senate. While it was a statement of fact, some of Quayle's advisors suggested that this comparison could cause trouble.[5]

Transcript

A full transcript of the 1988 vice-presidential debates from the Commission on Presidential Debates can be found at www.debates.org.

The relevant portion of that transcript follows:

Tom Brokaw: Senator Quayle, I don't mean to beat this drum until it has no more sound in it. But to follow up on Brit Hume's question, when you said that it was a hypothetical situation, it is, sir, after all, the reason that we're here tonight, because you are running not just for Vice President — (Applause) — and if you cite the experience that you had in Congress, surely you must have some plan in mind about what you would do if it fell to you to become President of the United States, as it has to so many Vice Presidents just in the last 25 years or so.
Quayle: Let me try to answer the question one more time. I think this is the fourth time that I've had this question.
Brokaw: The third time.
Quayle: Three times that I've had this question — and I will try to answer it again for you, as clearly as I can, because the question you're asking is, "What kind of qualifications does Dan Quayle have to be president," "What kind of qualifications do I have," and "What would I do in this kind of a situation?" And what would I do in this situation? [...] I have far more experience than many others that sought the office of vice president of this country. I have as much experience in the Congress as Jack Kennedy did when he sought the presidency. I will be prepared to deal with the people in the Bush administration, if that unfortunate event would ever occur.
Judy Woodruff: Senator Bentsen?
Bentsen: Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy. (Prolonged shouts and applause.) What has to be done in a situation like that is to call in the —
Woodruff: (Admonishing applauders) Please, please, once again you are only taking time away from your own candidate.
Quayle: That was really uncalled for, Senator. (Shouts and applause.)
Bentsen: You are the one that was making the comparison, Senator — and I'm one who knew him well. And frankly I think you are so far apart in the objectives you choose for your country that I did not think the comparison was well-taken.

Aftermath

Quayle's reaction to Bentsen's comment was played and replayed by the Democrats in their subsequent television ads as an announcer intoned: "Quayle: just a heartbeat away." It proved sure-laugh fodder for comedians, and more and more editorial cartoons depicted Quayle as a child (Saturday Night Live actually used a child actor to portray Quayle in several sketches).

Avoiding going head-to-head with a seasoned Bentsen, Quayle had spent the debate criticizing presidential nominee Michael Dukakis as too liberal. Quayle felt that he had successfully got that message across since Bentsen did not defend Dukakis.[6]

The Bush–Quayle ticket defeated Dukakis–Bentsen in the presidential election by a margin of 8% of the popular vote and an electoral landslide, with the Democrats winning only ten states, and Bentsen's influence, while memorable, failed to deliver even his native Texas, let alone the several Southern states Dukakis had hoped for.

Legacy

Four years later at the 1992 Republican National Convention, Ronald Reagan answered claims by Bill Clinton's campaign, while poking fun at his own age, by saying, "This fellow they've nominated claims he's the new Thomas Jefferson. Well, let me tell you something. I knew Thomas Jefferson. He was a friend of mine. And governor, you're no Thomas Jefferson."[7]

At the 1992 US vice presidential debate during his opening statement, Democratic nominee Al Gore took a humorous shot at Dan Quayle over the Jack Kennedy comparison. Quayle was running for re-election and trying to make up for his performance in the 1988 debate. Gore was also taking a shot at President George Bush's comparisons of the accomplishments of his administration to that of Harry Truman. Gore said to Quayle, "I'll make you a deal this evening. If you don't try to compare George Bush to Harry Truman, I won't compare you to Jack Kennedy." The audience reacted with laughter.[8][9]

In 2008, Ronald Reagan's daughter Patti Davis paraphrased the quotation in reference to a number of presidential candidates invoking her father's name during the 2008 United States presidential campaign, "Where is Lloyd Bentsen when you need him? 'I knew Ronald Reagan... senator (or governor), you're no Ronald Reagan.'"[10]

In October 2012, at the UK Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham, Foreign Secretary William Hague made a response to a speech that Labour leader Ed Miliband had given at his own party conference in the previous week, in which Miliband compared his party with Benjamin Disraeli's One Nation Conservatism ideology. Hague said, "To borrow a turn of phrase, we were led by Disraeli, our predecessors knew Disraeli, Disraeli was a Conservative through and through, and, Ed Miliband, you are no Disraeli."[11]

At the 2012 US vice presidential debate, Vice President Joe Biden made a similar statement in reaction to Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan's citation of a policy taken by President Kennedy. Biden quipped at Ryan, "Oh, now you're Jack Kennedy?" to laughter.[12]

At the 2016 Democratic National Convention, former Reagan administration official Doug Elmets, referencing the presidential campaign of Donald Trump, stated, "I’m here tonight to say: I knew Ronald Reagan. I worked for Ronald Reagan. Donald Trump, you are no Ronald Reagan."[13]

In June 2017, after Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar nominated former attorney general Maire Whelan as a judge to the Court of Appeals and was accused of pressuring President Michael D Higgins to sign off on her confirmation, he claimed appointments like this have precedent such as in the cases of Frank Clarke, Adrian Hardiman and Donal O'Donnell. Opposition Leader Micheál Martin claimed it “stunk to high heaven” and quipped “with the greatest of respect, Máire Whelan is no Frank Clarke, is no Adrian Hardiman, and is no Donal O’Donnell.”[14]

References to and parodies of the famous quotation have often appeared in popular culture.

Notes

  1. ↑ Isaacs, Arnold R. (2000). Vietnam Shadows. JHU Press. p. 43. ISBN 0-8018-6344-9. Retrieved 2008-08-29.
  2. ↑ E.J. Dionne, Jr. (August 23, 1988). "Reopening an Old Wound; Quayle's Guard Duty in Vietnam War Era Puts the Focus Again on". NY Times. Retrieved 2008-08-29.
  3. ↑ Susan Estrich: "The Debates", Newsmax September 2004 (copy at the Internet Archive)
  4. ↑ Germond & Witcover 1989:440
  5. ↑
  6. ↑
  7. ↑ Toner, Robin (August 18, 1992). "In Their Own Words: The Overview; Bush Vows A Tough Campaign As G.O.P. Opens Its Convention". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
  8. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/1992/10/14/us/the-1992-campaign-excerpts-from-the-debate-among-quayle-gore-and-stockdale.html?pagewanted=all
  9. ↑ http://www.debates.org/index.php?page=october-13-1992-debate-transcript
  10. ↑ Broder, John M. (January 20, 2008). "The Gipper Gap: In Search of Reagan". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-26.
  11. ↑ "Conservative conference: Miliband no Disraeli, says Hague". BBC News. October 7, 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-10.
  12. ↑ "Biden plays aggressor in debate as Ryan makes GOP case". NBC Politics. October 11, 2012. Retrieved 2012-11-10.
  13. ↑ Easley, Jonathan (July 28, 2016). "Former Reagan official to Trump: 'You are no Ronald Reagan'". The Hill. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  14. ↑ Michael O'Regan (June 20,2017). "Taoiseach defends new judge amid Micheal Martin criticism". Irish Times. Retrieved 2017-06-20. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ↑ "Ugly Betty [2006]". Quotes. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  16. ↑ "My Favorite Quotes From "Ugly Betty". Ugly Is The New Beautiful. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  17. ↑ http://www.megadeth.com/track/i-know-jack

References

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