European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 21, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 columns the stars and stripes William f. Buckley getting a handle on Quayle and liberalism the big Surprise in new Orleans of course was rages he had been told Nixon was 41. Ike thought Dan Quayle for . There were Only four things 39 too Young. Juk was 43 when he was nominated about him that All the commentators knew for sure for president and we were told these Over and Over i he is interesting symbolism All night Long on the hard  How do you define that Well Wal Ter Cronkite did it for us. You must oppose Abor Tion and higher taxes and be for Star wars. Higher taxes by the Way has become another Way of saying bigger  2 Quayle is very Rich they quoted $200 million. 3 he is handsome we must have heard about his likeness to Robert Redford 12 times. 4 he is a baby Boomer. The general impression is that a lot of people with their own candidate in mind were disappointed but that a new Young political figure will be a shot in the Arm for Bush. Quayle is Only 41 years old. Well Richard Nixon was 39 when he was nominated in Chicago. There was a funny sequel. A Day after Eisenhower had designated Nixon As his running mate he read in the paper that Nixon was Only 39 and he went into one of his Ike word  the democrats Are avoiding it like the clap. Pat Robertson thundered in with Duka Kis is the most Liberal candidate Ever put Forward for president by any major  Liberal baiting got Liberal lbs commentator Eric Sevareid looking like a dry Lemon and sounding like same. He said Nice formulation liberalism has become a four letter  hoho to. Did you Ever read my Book up from liberalism published in 1959. Gesta Tion period 21 years. The orators were All pretty fiery but the lbs people could t quite decide whether the republicans were being i delicately offensive in their references to the democrats. Walter Cronkite said in his judgment this was not yet a negative Campaign. But Eric Sevareid said the gop spokesmen had challenged the Patriot til member ism of the democrats. Wanna know Why because Keynoter Kean of new Jersey great speaker by the Way did a Long gig about the colors selected by the democrats for their convention. Instead of red White and Blue they selected Pink eggshell and azure. An that made Kean denounce pastel  but you know something patriotism is a love of country and it s just Plain True you could t love very deeply the country described at the Atlanta Conven Tion. If you thought the american government was indifferent to peace that the majority of voters who went for Reagan were interested in promoting greed racism and pollution Why should you love that coun try pastel patriotism was a metaphorical necessity for Kean. Insecure patriotism would have done it exactly. Gerald Ford was at his Best. He started off sounding a Little As if he was Reading from an old re publican primer but then you began to Groove with him. He got a big hand when he said a government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take from you everything you  Jeffer son said it More concisely. Remember government can do something for you Only in proportion As it Cando something to  and Jefferson was a Democrat. But it s All still True in t it Aeter Ais Aeter Nittis just As the democrats did t mention liberalism or taxes our Guys did t mention the deficit or the stun Ning fact that the Reagan administration spent a higher percentage of the Gross National product through Feder Al sources than Carter did 21.3 percent is. 23.3 per cent. But to run through the reasons for that would have required analysis and analysis and conventions Don t mix. Even super analyst Jeane Kirkpatrick was reduced to oratorical formulations. And it did t help that the networks tuned in the background noise every bloody second while people were speaking. When Marc Antony mourned the death of Caesar Shakespeare made Way for the crowd  they did t sound out the whole time making it hard to know whether Antony was there to Bury Caesar or to Praise him. Why Don t they turn off the mikes on the floor when the speaker begins not much said about the soviet Union As the Princi pal enemy of Freedom though Kirkpatrick reminded us that our dear friends Are still Busy building offensive arsenals and mucking about in much of the world. The substitute Hobgoblin is the drug dealers. Pat Robertson was for putting the convicted dealers in jail for life. Impish by the standards of the Keynoter Kean is for sending them to the chair. I la keep you posted. Why do we need Robert red Ford when we be already got Barbara Bush the coun try is slowly recovering from Atlanta you la be glad to know. C Universal press Syndicate Tom Wicker Quayle adds Little if any strength to gop ticket new Orleans even before questions began to surface about sen. Dan Quayle s National guard service during the War in Vietnam it could hardly be said that George Bush had made conventional political Choice that clearly bolstered his ticket or that he had picked running mate whose stature would enhance his own. Quayle brings the Republican ticket no state it might not have won otherwise. He makes possible no particular strategy mollify ing conservatives appealing to the Midwest that Bush could not have served with another perhaps better selection. He assures Trie support of no dissident faction and it s unlikely that he can close Bush s personal gender Gap. Republican poll data does not show that his relative youth necessarily will make a big Impact on others of the baby Boom generation. Bush did not make a presiden tial Choice either. It s fatuous to suggest that Quayle s career and qualities make him the test person or even one of the Best in the Republican party to succeed to the presidency. He certainly does not enhance Bush s stature with his own. On the Issue of presidential Succes Sion sen. Lloyd Bentsen the democratic vice presidential nominee seems Mohave a Clear Edge. His age experience and acceptability in the business Community mean that he could take Over the presidency if necessary probably witless disruption than would be Likely in the Case of Quayle. The selection of the Indiana senator immediately raised damaging questions about his National guard service about the Holiday trip to Florida about the political effect of his wealth that Bush did not need in what should have been his hour of Triumph and some of which May dog the Republican ticket throughout the Campaign. Worse Quayle s selection hardly reassured it May have further disturbed those who already doubted Bush s judgment strength and competence. If a political unknown was to be picked for example announcing his name in the Middle of an otherwise uneventful convention was bound to cause controversy and some consternation. As one experienced political figure Here suggested such a Choice might better have been announced a week or so ago to allow time for the nominee to become better known and for those unhappy at his selection to be won Over. Robert Teeter Bush s poll taker has been associated with Quayle since the beginning of his political career and strongly supported him for second place on the Bush ticket. Lee Atwater Bush s Campaign manager is Well known for his belief that the baby Boomers will be the key to the 1988 election. Since Bush did not originally consider Quayle for his running mate his selection therefore May have been less Bush s Strong person Al decision than the product of these aides persuasion. Quayle has opposed 60 Days notice to workers before Plant closings notification to workers when they have been exposed to toxic substances and some forms of drought Aid to Farmers. He is also a Man of great personal  of this is Likely to Appeal to the Reagan democrats mostly Blue Collar workers who voted for Ronald Reagan. That Calls Bush s political judgment int Sharp question since homing or regain ing the support of the Reagan democrats is one of his prime political problems. The other two republicans most often mentioned As possible running mates for Bush were sen. Bob Dole of Kansas and rep. Jack Kemp of new York. Either of these Well known republicans would have brought an established identity of his own to the ticket and Kemp might have wished to assert his Strong Supply Side economic views. Whatever his other reasons therefore Bush chose a running mate who will be less Independent of and less Likely to overshadow the top of the ticket. That s no doubt a natural product of Bush s having been overshadowed him self for eight years by Ronald Reagan. Still it would have been reassuring had a Man who might Well be president been willing to join hands with one of the More imposing figures in his party rather than a Man still of its rank and file. This was George Bush s first important decision at the presidential level. It May look better in the end than it does at first but it does not Send his Campaign off to a flying Start. C new York times