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 lion or child (Saturday Night Live actually used a child actor to portray Quayle in several sketches).
Nevertheless, 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.
Read more about this topic: Senator, You're No Jack Kennedy
Famous quotes containing the word aftermath:
“The aftermath of joy is not usually more joy.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)