Thirty years ago, I interviewed Marilyn Tucker Quayle for a novel she
co-wrote with her sister, Nancy Tucker Northcott. Mrs. Quayle's husband
Dan Quayle had been the running mate of George H.W. Bush. Bush was
President Ronald Reagan's VP for two terms. In 1988, when Reagan left
office, Bush ran to replace his former boss and chose Mr. Quayle as his
running mate. That pair won the election against the Democrat ticket of
Michael Dukakis and Geraldine Ferraro but they only served that one
term; in 1992 The Democrat ticket of Bill Clinton and Al Gore dashed
their reelection hopes. The Quayles returned to Indiana where Mrs.
Quayle began writing fiction with her sister. "The Campaign" was their
second novel written together.
Thirty years ago, I still conducted live interviews with authors every
weekday at 2:06 p.m. after NPR's news headlines ran. If guests were not
available to do live interviews during that hour I usually did not book
them, with a few rare exceptions. If an author was notable enough and I
was determined enough occasionally I would tape shows in advance as I do
now. Here are some of the rare exceptions I made: Peter Ustinov, David
McCullough, Bob Garfield, and Marilyn Quayle.
I really wanted to speak to Marilyn Quayle - I shall confess to having had
some ulterior motives. Mrs. Quayle was coming through Dayton on book
tour and not too long after that her husband would be passing through
the area to publicize a non-fiction book he had written. I really wanted
to snag an interview with Dan Quayle and hoped if things went smoothly
with his spouse that could improve my chances.
As you listen to my conversation with our former Second Lady no doubt
you will note that I was on my best behavior. Some might even accuse me
of being a bit obsequious! With this archival show I have included our
chit chat before the interview began and also after it concluded when I
shamelessly asked her to put in a good word for me with her husband.
Alas, I never got an interview with Dan Quayle and I have always
regretted it. I was not too proud to beg, or even to toady.
Would I have had the nerve to ask Mr. Quayle about the notorious "potato
incident?" We'll never know. Look it up. As I was listening to this
updated version of this broadcast I noticed an obvious error. I said
that the Bush/Quayle ticket failed to win the 1994 election, it was
actually 1992.
