European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 6, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 columns Walter  ars the stars and stripes Quayle beating fhe punch is of the punch line live from Washington it s a new crop of pan Quayle jokes As old by vice president Dan Quayle. He poses no retaliatory threat id he to comics who have made him the butt of their humor but Quayle is polishing his style As a Black and White tie humorist. ". Vor. President he said to George Bush and 629 other people at a formal dinner saturday night you be been so supportive of me. The other Day he called me into the Oval Otic and said. I want to do something that will show the nation what Faith 1 have in you in your maturity an your sense of responsibility. Would you like a Puppy  ii Ayle performances at the Din Ner of the Gridiron club and earlier atthe radio and television correspondents association s dinner Are in deeping with the springtime riles of Washington which include a round of formal dinners featuring he leaders of government needling journalists and themselves. Self a facing humor is deemed Best and the higher the tank the bigger the laughs curiously that is doubly so if the official involved has been facing the kind of Sharp sometimes personal criticism that has been Quay clot Ever since he was nominated. Quayle made his i but As a humorist at lhc.45lh radio and television correspondents dinner a couple of weeks  varied he was panned in the i Osi. U. Jul his delivery is improving. As for the material that s a judgment that can Only be made by the i Slener Vic War re adar.-"-.-. F  he opened that night by remark-1ing on he cocktails and the wine at every table saying he realized most of you do not want to be Secretary of de sense ins Job John g. Tower was de Nied largely because of reports of excessive drinking that Drew More groans than laughs although variations on the gag had been making the rounds since Tower s rejection by the Senate. It gets belter Quayle told his Tough crowd. Qua Etc. Said some people expected thai As vice president he d behave like Leon Daniel Spiro t. Agnew Public enemy of the news Media during the Nixon administration until he resigned rather than face prosecution on bribery charges. So Quayle joked he d sought Agnew s advice on press relations. " this Lime around Lull them no. More or Nice Guy " he said Agnew counselled. Gridiron dinners have been the Sel Ling for the repair of some political rep i lations and the denting of others. Nancy Reagan Sana secondhand clothes Early in the Reagan administration and deflected criticism of her costly borrowed gowns and White House China. In keeping with the ritual Quayle turned his Best lines on himself tie said Bush had offered him a new title to describe his duties funeral  i think the president truly appreciates my insights he said. Just theother Day he was telling the Cabinet if there s one thing i won t tolerate it s ,.  in that right. Dan " Quayle looked Down the head table at Secretary of state James a. Bake re Lowe him so much no said.1 during the Campaign he took me under his Wing  kept metitcrc.".-,He said Baker advised him on the Way to handle the questions about  in the vice presidential Campaign debate wait for a strategic moment then compare yourself to John Kennedy " thanks  Quayle said complaints about youth and i next Crince did t really bother him during the Campaign. What really burned me up were All the stories about my so called handlers. Tinally got so mad i went right to the top. 1 said mar in you be got to do something about this " Marilyn of course is mrs. Quayle. Some of  president s critics say she s the brains of the family. Ill never forget that magic moment we met Quayle said. You remember dear when you caught me pecking Over. Your shoulder during the bar trying to outdo the hostile humor May seem a strange Way to counter it. But. It s worked before. Still there s a lot of mileage left in Quayle jokes. At the Gridiron dinner Ronald h. Brown the democratic chairman reminded everyone that Washington now has an 1 1 pm. Curfew for juveniles who do not have essential employment. To turned to Quayle. You be Only got about an hour and a half or. Vice president.". Editor s note Witter n. Main vice pour Trot Ixl  la , a port front Man Evanss my pork a incas and horseshoes just Media hype anyone who believes president Bush loves snack ing on pork rinds and pitching horseshoes just fell off the turnip truck. So did Busl if Heoji Pecos us to buy the new a Mac he s lining to peddle with a lot of Media hype of his alleged penchant for deep Fried pigskin and barnyard Golf i figure the tastes of the president who was a Connecticut Yankee and a Yale before he was a Texas oilman run More to Cucumber sandwiches and Lawn inn ii. The Lasi Lime i wrote a column critical of his Boss Icola complaint from while House spokesman Marlin Fil Waitr who was raised on a Kansas farm he really told me  cow ate the cabbage now i m willing to believe that Filz water is the kind of fellow who shares with me a taste for pork rinds and non aerobic sports such As horseshoes. Fiu Walcer and 1, after All arc pretty much the same shape which is somewhat round while Bush is lean. I dont know about Filz Waitr s cholesterol count but mine looks like an excellent Bowling score. The president on the other hand appears to be in terrific physical condition. He likes to run. Runners Are nol known to ingest a Tot of artery clog Ging pork rinds or spend Long Lazy sunday afternoons trying to lob ringers i can t help but wonder what the sensible first lady has to say when she catches the president with his hand in the pork Rind Jar. Docs she politely suggest a substitute snack celery curls perhaps or Carrot Sticks or maybe she forthrightly inquires George Are you out of your Cotton picking mind i read in the new York times that the president is trying to woo he press but i have to admit i Haven been wooed yet. Although i appreciated Fiu water s interest in inc stuff i Type when he told me How the cow ale the cabbage it did t really seem As if he was trying to win me Over to. Be honest 1 Felt Ai if triad been taker to the woodshed. Jessica Lee. The White House reporter for us today told the times she could t gel Over parking her Rusty Dat Sun in front of the while House an strolling inside for dinner. Reporters like Lee who cover the real important stuff in Washington say the easier Access to Bush gives them a Fuller picture of his personality. They say Ronald Reagan s style of dealing with the press was More stage As perhaps befits an old movie actor. I once substituted for up1 White House reporter Helen Thomas in covering one of Reagan s trips to his ranch. During the entire two weeks i never even got close to the president. We were not permitted to watch him ride his horse chop Wood or even cat Jelly Beans i did gel to ride Back on air Force one which was fun bul Reagan was up front somewhere and Well out of sight of the press. As 1 recall inc drinks were free. So were the Jelly Beans. Several weeks later the White House sent me a document which was suitable for framing and certified that 1 had been a passenger on air Force one. One of these Days i expect to use that document to collect bar bets from suckers who Don t believe that Reagan and i were fellow travellers so to speak. Some members of the press worry that the increased Access to the president might Compromise their objectivity. Nol me. 1 f the president invites me to come Over to the while House some sunday afternoon to Pilch horse shoes i m going to accept. But if he offers me some pork rinds 1 Hope my have the win Power to just say