www.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/05/09/quayle.cnna/index.html
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Ten years ago, then-Vice President Dan Quayle ignited a firestorm of controversy when he criticized Murphy Brown, the powerful, intelligent character in an eponymous sitcom, for having a child out of wedlock -- and without any father in the picture whatsoever. Bush administration's made way for President Clinton in January 1993, Quayle spoke to CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Thursday about his decade-old comments and his continuing efforts to promote family values. DAN QUAYLE: We have made a lot of progress on the issue I tried to address (in that speech). And the issue was not single motherhood: The issue was the absence of fathers. As you recall, (in) that famous sound bite that is run over and over again, I talk about mocking the importance of fathers. Quayle takes on Murphy Brown Ten years ago, Dan Quayle brought up sitcom character Murphy Brown in an address about family values. Now looking back 10 years later, we have had a lot of fatherhood initiatives that have sprung up. These are the types of things that we ought to talk about. WOLF BLITZER: If you could redo that -- those sentences you said 10 years ago -- would you rephrase them? You've got to realize that the speech was about a 35 to 40-minute speech. The subject was the poverty of values, the breakdown in the family. If in fact you don't finish high school, you get married before 20 or you have children before 20, you have an 80 percent chance of living in poverty. I was trying to put out as a challenge to families and to all people: (If you) stay in school, get married, wait until you're after 20 to start having children, you have less than a 5 percent chance of living in poverty. Now, the sound bite was an 8-second deal in a 40-minute speech. What I find interesting, and I'm going to address this at the National Press Club, was the way the print media treated it vs. The print media -- The Washington Post it was the lead story, and The New York Times it was above the fold, but Murphy Brown was in paragraph 10. Perhaps they felt I was attacking one of their own or whatever the cause may be. BLITZER: Do you have any problems with the current sitcom, "Friends"? The character Rachel is about to have a baby -- she is unmarried. The fact is if TV is going to portray someone having a child out of wedlock, at least they're going to have the father involved. But the fact that the father is there is a very responsible and a very positive message. At that time (10 years ago), she was very happily married to her husband (and) had a longtime, wonderful family. Because they have an entirely different lifestyle at home than what they portray on television. QUAYLE: Well, I've learned over the years that you never say never. But Marilyn and I are really enjoying ourselves out in Phoenix, close to my mother. I still try to stay in close contact with the (Bush) administration and offer my private advice when asked. But who knows, I still consider myself a young man -- I'm only 55 -- so we'll see. Find 46 Back to the top 2003 Cable News Network LP, LLLP.
|
http://csua.com/feed/