1980s

Dan Quayle

Bill Thompson

Dan Quayle was a Republcian U.S. Senator from Indiana. and not a very well-known Senator, when George H.W. BuSh chose him as his 1988 running mate. Quayle took a lot of heat from critics who derided him as an intellectual lightweight.

Bush won that election, and Qualye became America’s 44th vice president.

But the 1992 camapign proved more difficult for Bush and Quayle.

It was in June of ’92 that Quayle visited an elementary school in New Jersey. It wa supposed to be just another routine campaign photo-op, a school spelling bee.

A 12-year-old boy went up the blackboard to spell his word, “potato.” But Quayle “corrected” him, insisting there was an “e” at the end of “potato.”

Things just kind of went downhjll from there.

I first met Dan Quayle about two years later, after he’d written a memoir. And as you’re about to hear, he had a sense of humor about The Potato Incident.

Here now, from 1994, Dan Quayle:

Dan Quayle is now 73. He lives with his wife Marilyn in retirement in Arizona. They’ve been married for 47

Selwa “Lucky” Roosevelt

Bill Thompson

It’s not a government job that gets a lot of attention or media coverage.

Photo: National Council of US-Arab Relations

But the office of U.S. Chief of Protocol is a uniquely sensitive position. If done right, no one even notices. But if done wrong, it can spark an international crisis.

Former journalist Selwa Roosevelt — always known as “Lucky” — was Chief of Protocol under :resident Ronald Reagan, from 1982 to 1989. That’s longer than anyone else has ever served in that position.

I met Lucky Roosevelt the year after she left the government.

Here now, from 1990, Selwa “Lucky” Roosevelt.

During her tenure, Lucky Roosevelt presided over more than 70 state visits and restoration of the historic Blair House in Washington.

In 2012, President Barack Obama awarded Lucky Roosevelt a presidential commendation for her government service.

Lucky Roosevelt is now 91.

Roger Ailes

Bill Thompson

Years before he became head of Fox News — way before there even was a Fox News — Roger Ailes was a media consultant. Most prominent among his many clients, perhaps, was President Ronald Reagan. Ailes was an adviser to the President in his 1984 reelection bid, and was indirectly responsible for one of that campaign’s most memorable, and decisive, moments.

I met Roger Ailes in the fall of 1987. He’d written a book to help coach people in the art of public speaking and dealing with the media. The books promised to reveal the “secrets of the master communicators.”

So here now, from 1987, Roger Ailes:

Roger Ailes went on to become CEO of the fledgling Fox News in 1996. He held that post until 2016 when allegations of sexual harassment forced him out.

Roger Ailes died in 2017, thee days after his 77th birthday.