"Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy" was a remark made during the 1988 United States vice presidential debate by Democratic nominee Senator Lloyd Bentsen to Republican nominee Senator Dan Quayle in response to Quayle's comparison of his experience in Congress to that of John F. Kennedy, the Democratic 35th president of the United States, whom Bentsen knew from their time as congressmen from the 80th to 82nd Congresses. Since then, the words "You're no Jack Kennedy," or some variation on the remark, have become a part of the political lexicon as a way to deflate politicians or other individuals perceived as thinking too highly of themselves.[1] Michael Dukakis (the Democratic presidential nominee) and Bentsen later went on to lose the 1988 United States presidential election to George H. W. Bush and Quayle, who thus succeeded Bush as vice president of the United States.[2][3]
- ^ "Quayle's Unwelcome Analogy". Time. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
- ^ "Presidential Election of 1988". 270toWin.com.
- ^ "'Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy' almost didn't happen. How it became the biggest VP debate moment in history". Los Angeles Times. October 4, 2016. Retrieved June 4, 2020.