Dan Quayle quotes

Apropos of completely nothing (aside from my wanting to spark a discussion of the rampant anti-intellectualism that runs through the Republican Party), I discovered a page of Dan Quayle quotes that I had to share (you remember Dan Quayle, don't you, former V.P. of the United States?).

Each of these quotes are gems in their own right. Some are very (unintentionally) zen-like and read like mind-cleansing Buddhist koans.

Here are several examples (although I encourage you to follow the link and read them all):

"When I have been asked during these last weeks who caused the riots and the killing in L.A., my answer has been direct and simple: Who is to blame for the riots? The rioters are to blame. Who is to blame for the killings? The killers are to blame."

"Verbosity leads to unclear, inarticulate things."

"Mars is essentially in the same orbit... Mars is somewhat the same distance from the Sun, which is very important. We have seen pictures where there are canals, we believe, and water. If there is water, that means there is oxygen. If oxygen, that means we can breathe."

"What a waste it is to lose one's mind. Or not to have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is."

"I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and democracy - but that could change."

"The Holocaust was an obscene period in our nation's history. I mean in this century's history. But we all lived in this century. I didn't live in this century."