Water on Mars? Didn't Dan Quayle Tell Us This Years Ago?

So the JPL scientists operating the Mars Rovers have reported strong evidence that the crater one of the rovers landed in was once drenched with water. This should not, however, take away from the acheivements of the planetary theoritician Dan Quayle who said:

"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.

-- Vice President Dan Quayle, 8/11/89 (reported in Esquire, 8/92)"

It's remarkable that, despite quotes like this, Dan has been consistently underestimated. Grammarians already believe, as Quayle foresaw, that 60% of the American population will be spelling "potato" with an "e" by 2018. If only he had had the vision to tack the word "compassionate" in front of "conservative" -- an alliterative obviousness -- Dan might well have been a second term President today.