Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Elder Bush Considered Clint Eastwood for VP

Instead, he picked Dan Quayle

By John Johnson, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 14, 2011 4:39 PM CDT

(Newser) – Vice President Clint Eastwood? It was at least a possibility in 1988 when George HW Bush was considering running mates, reports the Note blog at ABC News. Two factors helped: Eastwood at the time was the Republican mayor of Carmel, California, and Bush was getting clobbered in the polls by Michael Dukakis. Eastwood's name got raised "in not an altogether unserious" manner, recalls former campaign chief and Secretary of State James Baker.

“Anyway, it was shot down pretty quick," he says. "But we were looking at an 18-point deficit.” Bush picked Dan Quayle instead.

Clint Eastwood arrives at the 63rd annual DGA Awards on Saturday Jan. 29, 2011, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)

Former President George H.W. Bush leaves his seat at Minute Maid Park on April 26, 2011 in Houston. (Getty Images)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

CLICK BELOW TO VOTE

45%

19%

28%

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Getty Images

Man Goes to Hospital For Kidney Stone...Leaves a Woman (Huff Post)

Is Chase Crawford Dating a Cougar? (Bleacher Report)

My Boss Walked in on Me Touching Myself, Now He Won't Stop Flirting (Slate)

7 Gross Celebrity Items Sold at Auction (The Week)

The Lowest-Rated Show on TV Is Actually Awesome (Slate)

Partner Links

Sponsor Links

A snapshot of the day's best news stories.

View Larger Grid

All Today Yesterday Pick a Date

COMMENTS

Read the comment policy

Showing 3 of 19 comments

Kookey90

Oct 16, 2011 4:08 AM CDT

Bush could have gotten Gene Hackman, Chuck Norris, Sly Stallone or Steven Segal for much cheaper than Eastwood, if he'd tried.

crafter67

Oct 15, 2011 12:58 PM CDT

If he would have picked Eastwood, you know there would have been an assassination attempt...Quayle was a kind of insurance...

Doctor-Zaius

Oct 15, 2011 3:18 AM CDT

Eastwood is an actor. He's not good at leading, he's good at pretending he knows how to lead. That tells you all you need to know about the Grand Ole party of Pedophiles. Image over substance. Party before country. And the Wealthy before everyone else.

What's Popular Now on Facebook

Japanese Artist Serves Up Own Cooked Genitals

Rape Conviction Cleared, Thanks to Facebook

ABC News (Source Grid »)

Politics • Celebrity

Clint Eastwood • vice president • George HW Bush • Dan Quayle

More Newser Stories

Quayle: Palin Furor 'Sounded Familiar'

1988 Republican VP candidate offers advice: 'Be yourself'

(NEWSER) - Sarah Palin’s entrance into the election campaign seems like déjà vu to Dan Quayle, who played that part for the Republicans in 1988. Like Palin, he was supposed to connect an old moderate to the party base and win over the Midwest with small-town charm. And like Palin, he got a face-full of negative press. “It sure sounded familiar,” Quayle told the Los Angeles Times. More»

Romney Could Have a 'Dan Quayle Problem'

Like Bush in '88, he must pick a VP to please conservatives: Steve Kornacki

(NEWSER) - Now that talk is turning to Mitt Romney's VP pick, Steve Kornacki at Salon sees a strong parallel between his situation and that of the elder George Bush in 1988. Both rose to the top of the ticket despite a "moderate/liberal past" and thus had to constantly appease the conservative base. In Bush's case, he had no choice but to appoint a running mate to satisfy the right. Romney is similarly flirting with Paul Ryan, though other conservative favorites are in the mix. More»

Tea Party, GOP Must Work Together

Third party challenges historically benefit those they oppose: Quayle

(NEWSER) - Watching the emergence of the Tea Party movement is giving Dan Quayle flashbacks—about Ross Perot. Perot's Reform Party siphoned off 19% of the votes in the 1992 presidential election, effectively denying the elder George Bush a second term. "There's a well-worn path of third-party movements in American history, and it leads straight to a dead end," Bush's VP writes for the Washington Post . More»

Biden Apologized to Obama on Gay Marriage

White House: VP said he didn't mean to overstep boundaries

(NEWSER) - Skeptics may think Joe Biden's public comments on gay marriage were carefully orchestrated, but the White House insists it was just Joe being Joe. In fact, Biden apologized to the president the first time the two spoke afterward, reports the New York Times and Washington Post . (Both cite anonymous administration officials.) The apology came yesterday morning, hours before Obama offered his own public support for same-sex marriage. More»

Joe Biden Suddenly a Liberal Hero

His gay-marriage comments 'sped up history': Steve Kornacki

(NEWSER) - Liberals are celebrating a hero in the White House, and his name is ... Joe Biden. The vice president's comments on Sunday in support of gay marriage clearly "sped up history," writes Steve Kornacki at Salon , and gave President Obama "no choice but to say what he’s been scared to say since taking the national stage." It's a role reversal of sorts for the pair. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Elder Bush Considered Clint Eastwood for VP

Instead, he picked Dan Quayle

OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

Clint Eastwood • vice president • George HW Bush • Dan Quayle

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Quayle: Palin Furor 'Sounded Familiar'

1988 Republican VP candidate offers advice: 'Be yourself'

Romney Could Have a 'Dan Quayle Problem'

Like Bush in '88, he must pick a VP to please conservatives: Steve Kornacki

Tea Party, GOP Must Work Together

Third party challenges historically benefit those they oppose: Quayle

Biden Apologized to Obama on Gay Marriage

White House: VP said he didn't mean to overstep boundaries

Joe Biden Suddenly a Liberal Hero

His gay-marriage comments 'sped up history': Steve Kornacki

About Us

Site

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?