Lloyd Millard Bentsen, Jr. (February 11, 1921 – May 23, 2006) was a four-term United States senator (1971–1993) from Texas and the Democratic Party nominee for Vice President in 1988 on the Michael Dukakis ticket. He also served in the House of Representatives from 1949 to 1955. In his later political life, he was Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and the U.S. Treasury Secretary during the first two years of the Clinton administration.

Bentsen was born in Mission in Hidalgo County in south Texas; his parents were Lloyd Millard Bentsen, Sr., a first-generation Danish American, and the former Edna Ruth Colbath. Bentsen was an Eagle Scout and recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America. He attended Sharyland High School. He graduated from the University of Texas School of Law in 1942 where he was a member of the Upsilon Chapter of Sigma Nu fraternity and the Texas Cowboys. Upon graduation, he served in the United States Army Air Corps from 1942 to 1945. On November 27, 1943, he married Beryl Ann Longino, a fashion model, whom he first met in college.^{[citation needed]}

James Danforth "Dan" Quayle ( /ˈkweɪl/; born February 4, 1947) served as the 44th Vice President of the United States, serving with President George H. W. Bush (1989–1993). He served as a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from the state of Indiana.

Quayle was born in Indianapolis but spent most of his childhood living in Arizona. He married Marilyn Tucker in 1972 and obtained his J.D. from Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in 1974. He practiced law in Huntington, Indiana with his wife before being elected to the United States Congress in 1976, aged 29. In 1980, Quayle was elected to the Senate.

In 1988, Vice President George H. W. Bush was nominated for the presidency by the Republican Party and asked his party to nominate Quayle as his vice presidential running mate. Although this choice was met with some dismay, the Bush/Quayle ticket won the 1988 election over Democrats Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen. As vice president, Quayle made official visits to 47 countries and was appointed chairman of the National Space Council. He secured re-nomination for vice-president in 1992 but the Bush/Quayle ticket was defeated by Democrat Bill Clinton and his vice-presidential running mate, Al Gore.

Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. (pronunciation: /ˈdʒoʊsɨf rɒbɨˈnɛt ˈbaɪdən/; born November 20, 1942) is the 47th and current Vice President of the United States, serving under President Barack Obama. A Democrat, he was a United States Senator from Delaware from January 3, 1973 until his resignation on January 15, 2009, following his election to the Vice Presidency.

Biden was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania and lived there for ten years before moving to Delaware. He became an attorney in 1969, and was elected to a county council in 1970. Biden was first elected to the Senate in 1972 and became the sixth-youngest senator in U.S. history. He was re-elected to the Senate six times, was the fourth most senior senator at the time of his resignation, and is the 15th-longest serving Senator in history. Biden was a long-time member and former chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. His strong advocacy helped bring about U.S. military assistance and intervention during the Bosnian War. He opposed the Gulf War in 1991. He voted in favor of the Iraq War Resolution in 2002, but later proposed resolutions to alter U.S. strategy there. He has also served as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, dealing with issues related to drug policy, crime prevention, and civil liberties, and led creation of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act and Violence Against Women Act. He chaired the Judiciary Committee during the contentious U.S. Supreme Court nominations of Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas.