...It was just like the Quayle-Bergen thing all those years ago. But people's views have evolved and Portman is younger/better looking than Bergen was at the time-not to mention that unlike the Quayle criticism this is actually a real live woman being attacked and not a fictional character...
Wasn't going to mention that but since you brought it up....
I always thought Quayle's criticism of the Murphy Brown baby thing was justified...in part because it WAS complete fiction, written solely for entertainment. Here you had a wealthy, prominent, over-40 single career woman who suddenly found herself pregnant...and actually didn't know who the father was!! It wasn't even as though real life pregnancy needed to be written into the show...the whole thing was simply made up.
What Quayle was saying was that it was sending the wrong message and he had a point...unfortunately it all came about during an election year and was very skillfully used against him by the show. Murphy's son was born in the 1992 season finale, Quayle promptly delivered his criticism and they absolutely TROUNCED him in the September season premiere...exactly 2 months before the election.
Not saying that Bush would've won re-election over Clinton had it not been for that...but it certainly didn't help and it REALLY irrepably damaged Dan Quayle, who up to then was already getting very little respect.
