European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 3, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 the stars and strikes columns William f. Buckley or. Unanswered questions stall Quayle candidacy within a Day or iwo after these words appear judgment will be passed on the abilities of Dan Quayle. It can t be supposed that George Bush does not know Hal the selection of play la As his running mate has crystallized into the ultimate question about Bush s capacity to Lead the nation. It in t Only the old business about Quayle s joining the National guard presumably to avoid inc real possibility of serving combat duty in Vietnam Why docs a Chicken Cross inc Road is the latest taunt. Answer to join the National thin was of course the major Anli Quayle launch. But since his selection Quayle has been chaperoned in ways entirely inconsistent with the respect owing to someone deemed qualified to serve Al a moment s no Tice As president. We learn that the acceptance speech he gave was written for him and handed to him a hour or two before its delivery. As to the speech itself which was a tribute to Apple Pic. The evaluation of it by Roger Rosenblatt of . News & world report Slicks like Elmer s glue to the memory. What did you think of the speech he was asked by Dan a Alicr. Well Rosenblatt said pensively i have heard worse. I m trying to think when. Nut the weeks since the Sproch have been eerily disco fiting. We saw him go to Indiana where at his Hometown he was greeted like Lindbergh come Back from his Solo flight across the Atlantic. Of Hal is How hometowns Sircal people suddenly elevated to stardom. Then there was an appearance before a veterans group where he received great applause which suggested nothing much More than that veterans of the Vietnam War were tolerant of the practice of combat evasion successfully a Ccu Ted. No doubt most of them would in retrospect have avoided combat if possible All the More since survivors of that War arc perfectly situated to pronounce that if Ever there was a War in which it can be said that american men died in vain that one was it. Not since the charge of he Light brigade were soldiers invited so cogently to dwell on the adage thai i heirs was not to reason Why theirs was to do and die. The Vietnam War in addition to pronouncing an end to the policy of containment catapulted the idea of individual conscientious objection to a particular War to a dazzling relevance. The Stilt upper lip Case Jill Lawrence can be made and made by responsible citizens Ihal american conscripts Goddam Well go and die wherever the commander in chief backed by Congress tells them to go and die. Future military engagements if conducted without Clear evidence that the safely of the Republic is in jeopardy will need to be fought by volunteers. And the toleration of Quayle s conduct by veterans organizations is the clearest proof of this. But after the Brief exposure before the veterans groups the impression hardened that Quayle was being tethered for fear Hal he would not act could not Art persuasively. In one burst of analysis he got so tangled in his language that he sounded not Only like Dwight Eisenhower at his worst but like Eisenhower drunk. Although any of the dozen talk shows willing and eager to invite him to appear did so sunday after sunday he remained in relative reclusion delivering Only before Remote red crowds his stump speech which is a combination of patriotic bombast and Domestic treacle. 1 owe it to this depressing account to relay the re sults of my own desultory . When lbs accosted canc Kirkpatrick in new Orleans on the floor of the Republican convention to give her the news that Dan Quayle was the Choice of George Bush she flushed with enthusiasm. Now Kirkpatrick is not the kind of person who Coos easily. A Telephone Call established that in her dealings with Quayle on the subject of arms control she was greatly impressed by his Mastery of the subject. Another Call this time to Jack Kemp yielded a second Vole of Confidence. Sen. Lloyd Bentsen said Flat out that Dan Quayle was not qualified to serve As vice president thai if the Bush ticket were elected the duly of he country would be to Pray for the longevity of George Bush. Such Anima versions can be dismissed As Mere Campaign harassment. Bui they arc disturbing in thai disparage ments that organic Are not usually made by one Silling senator against another. But As things now stand before the great de Bale there arc Many americans who Pray that if Bush is elected he will last for at least eight years and Hal if Dukakis is elected he will As soon As possible move on to Greener pastures leaving the country in charge of the vice president who has disagreed with Dukakis on a half dozen critical issues Over the years. If Unm Rati Finis sync Fittl Dan Quay a s Good books Scarf people thinking. Jan i,._. A c. in my Ziec Emp Esris Emont at airhead is not resist said Damoc falsome May swoon but others de Mand. Can he Type Indiana sen. Dan Quayle is making an impression on women but it s not always the one re publican strategists May have had in mind. When Quayle catapulted to prominence As the go vice presidential Nom Inee in was hard to ignore two fads other republicans were far More experienced and Quayle. Blond and fresh faced possessed strikingly Good looks. I can t believe a Guy Hal handsome would t be attractive in sonic res Perl to women said sen. John Mccain r Ari at the gop convention in August. Anyone that Good looking must stand for really Good said a sup posed surveyed woman in a recent doonesbury comic strip. "1 think most women want a really hoi Guy to be in charge of the agreed her Friend. Mccain was t kidding. But the mock doonesbury poll should Nave been adjusted for sarcasm according to the strip. I parts disagree on whether Quay will help attract women to the co11 lick Al headed by vice president George Bush. He s been credited with narrowing the gender Gap but he s also been com pared to u Ken doll Barbie doll s Friend and labelled a hindrance rather than a help for Bush. When actor Tom Sidleck escorted Nancy Reagan to the podium at the convention i saw grown women faint and moan said gop consultant Ann Stone. There arc a lot of women where physical appearance still is important. I Don t think Quayle has the Charisma of Sci Lack. But that still has some Ann Lewis a democratic consultant and is Magazine columnist sniffed Al the thought. Candidates that would pass a Hollywood screen test do not do noticeably belter than candidates Hal would flunk it. Looking at the House of representatives will Bear this out she said. On the other hand former actor Ron Ald Reagan has had some political Suc Cess. Recent polls showed Bush had erased a 20-Poinl gender Gap and was winning As much support from women As Michael Dukakis the democratic nominee was. Democrats say Quayle had nothing to do with this development. But gop consultant Eddie Mac said Quayle has been the Only variable in the race since the conventions thus you could hardly make the Case that he s not a May cause some excitement t parties and gatherings but he docs l cause vote switching among undecided or women voters she said. Right now he is the biggest single Dan Ger to George Bush s election. He is a land mine Hal George Bush planted in his own territory republicans claim Quayle has More than sex Appeal to offer women voters and hold up his marriage As exhibit a. Quayle s wife. Marilyn is a lawyer Tak ing off More than a decade to raise the couple s three children. A lot of women in thai age group of his wife professional women slaying Home to raise the children can relate to that family said Mac. They feel that he understands working wives women As Marilyn Quayle is the epitome of the modern woman said Stone. That says a lot about him that he has a partner that Lewis said if 1 were a partisan re publican desperately looking for some thing Good to think or say about Dana or Quayle Marilyn Quayle would be Ideal rallies across the country Quayle Des example i could think is encountered a mixed reception mrs Quayle herself blamed the Prelly be controversy on the news Media and a. Some placards carry messages such As Bui can he Type and women Don t Vole for men prettier than they but Many women eagerly press for Ward to hear and touch him. Lewis predicted Quayle would attract women who would have voted for the gop ticket anyway. Fac recently declared George Bush would t have selected someone who could not stand in his Stead for presi Bui democrats beg to differ. He just goes to prove thai the word Airhea is not resist Sai democratic Media consultant Bob Squier la s like Dorian Gray for vice Percsi Donl. There s this pretty face out there campaigning but someplace up in an Altic somewhere is a portrait of this Guy which is painted by his some women have reacted with out rage to the notion that they would vote for a candidate because he s cute. And despite healed denials that Quayle was chosen for thai reason some democrats see the possibility of a backlash against him. Women will look at this thin As an appalling cynical sexist decision said Squier. In the end his negative rating will be higher among women than Bush a what is off putting is Hal everything in his life has been so easy for him said Lewis. 1 f Quayle were less handsome she said at least it would have been one thing in life he had to Well maybe there is some thing Quayle has had to overcome his Good looks. Jim Ciccone Aji issues strategist for Quayle says the senator fights the pretty face thing almost like a woman does. There s a predisposition to think he does t have a brain. He s really very intelligent and that s going to come out in the course of the
